Ohm Shanthi Oshaana

Plot summary

The film begins as Dr. Matthew Devasya (Renji Panicker) anxiously paces the hall outside of a delivery room. He learns that his wife has delivered a baby boy and thanks God for the good news. A stranger comments that Mathew was lucky it's not a daughter, as he would have had to worry about her all his life. As the stranger says this, a nurse comes out of the delivery room carrying the baby, apologizing that she made a mistake, and confirming that the baby is actually a girl. Mathew glares at the stranger and praises God once again.

The story resumes in 1999 where the baby girl, Pooja Mathew (Nazriya Nazim), has grown up to become a tomboy and is now in grade 10 and is fifteen years old. She introduces the audience to her parents. Her father is a doctor by profession and enjoys recording and listening to his own renditions of songs. Her mother, a college lecturer by profession, is sweet and down-to-earth woman who loves cooking and appreciating her own culinary skills. Pooja also has two friends: Neetu (Akshaya Premnath), a flirt, and Donna (Oshein Mertil), a foodie.

Pooja recounts her childhood memories of being a tomboy, riding a motorbike and of her friendship with Rachel Aunty (Vinaya Prasad) who makes and sells wine as her job. Pooja is her official wine taster. During one of their sessions, she tells Pooja that she can either choose to marry a man she loves or learn to love a stranger that she is forced to marry. Pooja then decides then that she must find someone herself.

She settles on Yardley (Harikrishnan), a popular boy in her school. During a trip from her school, Yardley approaches Pooja with a proposal. Pooja ponders whether or not to accept. The next day, she and her friends are teased by a gang of men. Pooja gets angry and confronts them. As she does, one of the gang twists her arm. Just then, Giri (Nivin Pauly), a random stranger comes out through one of the rides and saves her. Pooja instantly falls for Giri and immediately leaves Yardley saying she does not have romantic feelings for him.

Over the course of the rest of the film, Pooja constantly tries to attract the attention of Giri, who is a part-time farmer but also teaches in the Kung Fu Academy. At one point, she learns from her cousin David Kaanjani (Aju Varghese) that another one of her cousins (and Kaanjani's sister), Julie (Poojitha Menon), used to be Giri's girlfriend. She is told that Julie was married off to another man from America. She learns from Rachel that Giri had been thought of as a suitor to her daughter Helen as well. The year is 2000. On Giri's birthday, which also happens to be a Palm Sunday, Pooja decides that she will propose to him by bringing him a locket. It starts raining and they take shelter in a temple. Pooja declares her love but Giri tells her that she is just a kid, and that she needs to concentrate on her studies because she is destined to become successful. Pooja drops the locket and she leaves the temple into the rain crying. At this juncture, Pooja is fifteen while Giri is seven years older at twenty-two.

Pooja is distraught but focuses on her studies as Giri had requested. She passes her medical entrance exams and goes to Kozhikode Medical College. Pooja tries to contact Giri before leaving, but learns that he is visiting China on a Kung Fu Academy trip. Actress Teenu did the role of the Chinese woman who appears as Giri's wife during a dream Pooja had. At the medical college, she is still friends with Neetu, and another student, Anna (Anju Kurian). She also befriends a young professor, Dr. Prasad Varkey (Vineeth Srinivasan). During her final year in 2005-06, she runs into Giri again. She confides in Dr. Prasad about Giri and he advises her that enough time has passed and she should pursue him if she is still interested. When Giri's mother is admitted to the hospital, Pooja takes care of her in an effort to get closer to Giri. When Giri's friend Thennal (Nikki Galrani) comes to visit, Pooja thinks they are in a relationship and becomes jealous until she learns that Thennal is already married.

Pooja comes home to stay with her parents and continues her pursuit of Giri by helping him with his social activities like performing community weddings. Now Giri is 28 and Pooja is 21. During this time, she surprises him by helping to publish a book his mother wrote. Though Pooja thinks Giri has started to care for her, she is shocked to learn that Giri is engaged to Sreelakshmi (Nimisha Suresh), one of their childhood friends. She learns that David had betrayed Giri in their college days hence David runs away whenever he sees Giri. One day after Church, David asks Pooja and Giri to help him elope with his love interest Nazeema. After they help him, David gives Giri a letter, telling him only to read it after they've left. When Giri opens the letter, he finds out that Kaanjani had actually eloped with Sreelakshmi. Pooja once again returns to her normal self.

Later, Pooja's Wine Aunty takes her to Giri. They go to the same place where Pooja had first proposed to Giri. As she walks up to Giri, he admits that he has loved her all along. He reveals that he kept some memories like the locket that Pooja originally gave him during her proposal. They get married soon after and Pooja reveals that Dr. Prasad has married Anna, Neetu has married Yardley and that things were going well. Presently, they (Pooja, Giri and their toddler daughter) are visiting her friend Anna. During their pep-talk, Prasad enquires about the daughter's name to which Giri replies is "Julie" (named after Giri's ex-girlfriend) much to Pooja's annoyance, which she narrates in the end that "men never forget their first lovers".

Critical reception

Entertainment website "OneIndia" rated the movie as entertaining, stating that the film has its share of happiness, one-liners and decent performances from the leading pair. The New Indian Express calls Om Shanthi Oshaana a "‘Peaceful’ Attempt at film making." "Sify" stated that the director Jude Anthany Joseph "creates an engaging enough drama in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, that you're happy to emotionally invest in [it]."

Theatrical run

The film completed 100 days in 12 screens. It grossed over ₹2.7 crore (US$420,000) in 4 days at the Indian box office. Overall, the film grossed ₹10.3 crore (US$1.6 million) at the box office. It was one of the biggest commercial success of 2014 in Malayalam.

Soundtrack

Ohm Shanti Oshaana's music was composed by Shaan Rahman with lyrics by Manu Manjith.

Accolades

45th Kerala State Film Awards

Film Critics Award