OH MY GOD

Cast:Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar, Mitun Chakraborty

Direction: Umesh Shukla

Producer : Ashvini Yardi, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal

Released: 28^TH Sep 2012

Lyrics:  Shabir Ahemed

Written by: Umesh Shukla

Review: super hit movie

Earned: box office collection approximately 55 corores

God is a personal choice and open to interpretation. His origins are undefined and range from mystical to scientific. He is someone, we are deeply conditioned to have faith in and never question.

Religion is man-made. Its original purpose was to function as a discipline and technique, guiding the progress of spiritual conscience, before its ideals were completely distorted to set up a dogmatic rulebook of blind devotion, intimidating myths and ritualistic lifestyle.

OMG-Oh My God creates a hard-hitting premise where its lead protagonist decides to dispute this rigid system by dragging God and the business of religion to court.

The film casts Paresh as an atheist who looks at God as nothing but big business. He plays Kanji Bhai, seller of idols he picks wholesale from outside Mumbai and then sells it to blind believers as antiques in his shop.

The film sets out to make a few caustic comments about reducing God into an industry through a set of fraud godmen who have to defend the almighty against Kanji in court. You spot glimpses of real life in the various holy personalities played out by Mithun Chakraborty, Govind Namdeo and Poonam Jhawar. These characters, though, could seem half-baked. Despite that flaw, the film still manages to regale because of two reasons.

That bit is interesting. As a comedian, Paresh has often hijacked the limelight from bigger names in multistarrers. Yet, the only starring roles he has had till date have come in serious films – Sardar and Tamanna. OMG is special in that sense. This is his first lead role in a comedy setup.

Umesh Shukla, who earlier directed the 2009 dud Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge, scripts this film along with Bhavesh Mandalia, incidentally writer of the original Gujarati play on which the film is based.

Shukla and Mandalia twist the script early one. There is an earthquake in the city. Miraculously, while nothing or nobody is harmed, Kanji’s shop is destroyed. The insurance company dismisses his claim saying it’s an act of God. So, Kanji decides to sue God and the court accepts his case.

First, OMG makes its point without fuss and without going over the top. Provoking as the subject is, the film was clearly not intentioned to insult faith. It is a script idea that could have easily gone wrong. Films adapted from plays often tend to get too melodramatic. OMG avoids that trap.

Secondly, the film works for its lead pair. Akshay and Paresh share crackling chemistry as God and the man who will finally learn to accept the concept of God as a positive presence in life. Together, the two actors lend the film its biggest USP.