Besides penning the coffee-table book The Making Of Om Shanti Om, Mushtaq Shiekh is also the film’s screenplay writer and has also acted in Farah Khan’s movie.

“I agreed to do the role only if I shared screen space with Shah Rukh and could threaten him. I had earlier done an appearance in Farah’s Main Hoon Na in which also I warned him. I can only threaten SRK for my career as an actor!” laughs Mushtaq.

End credits

In OSO, Mushtaq features in a scene in which he is sleeping on the road and wakes up to give SRK’s character of a junior actor, a piece of his mind. Apparently, when the credits rolled, Farah wanted the tagline with Mushtaq’s name to read as roadside beggar. But being the writer, he changed it to roadside sleeper.

“Having done the screenplay of the film, I had that much clout to have my character credit altered. I am shown sleeping on the street so I am the roadside sleeper!” guffaws Mushtaq.

Close to heart

Mushtaq has earlier penned The Making of Asoka (Santosh Sivan’s film starring SRK and Kareena Kapoor) as well as Still Reading Khan, a biography of the actor.

But he considers The Making of Om Shanti Om extremely dear to him. “In the earlier two books, I was the third eye, but this project is a journey from paper to celluloid. I was there with Farah when we began drafting the script and creating the characters. So I have been with the film from Day One."

Beyond the camera

The Making of Om Shanti Om is slated to hit bookstores along with the film’s release. Published by Om Books International, the 172 page book is priced at Rs. 495. “The book provides a complete behind-the-scenes guide . We had a German photographer throughout the shoot who has taken several candid shots of the cast and crew. I was continuously at the shoot capturing the nuances of the shoot. There is 50 per cent text and 50 per cent pictures, all exclusive. Besides details about the filming and trivia, it also takes a look at junior artistes of the ’70s and where they are now as the film’s main character is a junior artist.”

Mushtaq adds that the book is a complete guide to the film. “It makes more sense to read the book and after watching Om Shanti Om — you will understand exactly why it was so in the film.”

Trivia about the making of Om Shanti Om

Farah Khan made any one who was on the sets act in the film. The entire crew has a walk-on part. The joke was that anyone who entered the sets was bound to be in one of the frames.

During the shoot of the title song at Film City with 31 stars, the actor whom the unit hands mobbed and wanted to be photographed with was Mithun Chakraborty — Mithunda rocked.

When SRK saw the sets where the title track was to be shot at Film City, he felt art director Saboo Cyril had made a very small set to fit in all the stars. Farah had to explain to SRK that in the song, everyone would be looking out for the stars, and not at the sets.

Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan waited for three hours to be in the same frame as Dharmendra — they were really excited to share screen space with him.

Rekha was the only actor who insisted on rehearsals before the title song shoot.

SRK’s character of Om Kapoor has Pakistani actor Jawed Shaikh playing the role of his father, who is called Rajesh Kapoor, a ’70s hero. Rajesh Kapoor has been modelled on Rajesh Khanna. Jawed is also seen getting jiggy alongside Shabana Azmi in the Om Shanti Om track. Farah appears in the first shot of the film while producer Gauri Khan is in the last shot.