At its core, the film follows a classic, almost mythic narrative structure. It borrows heavily from the concept of reincarnation found in Indian folklore and earlier cinematic hits like Subhash Ghai’s Karz (1980). The plot bifurcates into two distinct halves. The first introduces Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan), a junior artist in the 1970s with dreams of superstardom, who dies in a tragic fire attempting to save the love of his life, the superstar Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). The second half sees him reborn as Om Kapoor, a pampered superstar in 2007, who eventually remembers his past life and seeks vengeance against the villainous producer, Mukesh Mehra.

The soundtrack by Vishal–Shekhar remains one of the best-selling Bollywood albums of all time. Every song was a chartbuster: