Movie Review – OMG Oh My God! (Hindi) – A divine comedy!!

Imagine a scene where the God says, “I didn’t update my Facebook profile picture so people still visualize me in my old props.” This makes your mouth wide open and also breaks you into laughter while watching OMG. The movie was not on my wish list, so I walked into the cinema expecting some run-of-the mill comedy coming from the duo of Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal. But after watching the film I was speechless. The film makes you think and raise your eye brows on hitherto established religious practices. In case you are still confused - The movie is not against GOD, but it’s somewhat against RELIGION!!

OMG is a cinematic adaptation of the Gujarati play Kanji Virrudh Kanji which had a successful run for many years. Though some parts of it were lost in the translation, the film succeeds in its objective and it sends the right message that swivels around “The Act of God” and the ones responsible for it. At times, the comedy loses its cinematic touch because the bone of contention here is a common man who loses everything in an earthquake and how he sues God and God men (who are lampooned as Salesmen) for this act. How this case moves on and will he get the claim amount or not forms the rest of the story.

The film has a tongue-in-cheek tone but knows the right way to say things. Director Umesh Shukla who’s also co-written the film with Bhavesh Mandalia seems not to believe in myths and apotheosis of tainted men that the system of “Organized religion” is trying to deal in. The film doesn’t make a sardonic poke at God - it mocks those mortals who involve in blind beliefs and idiosyncrasies in the name of God. It preaches about finding God in humans and advocates us to embark on a philanthropic journey. The way it says the essence of life is in Gita, Quran and Bible is adorable.

The premise is loaded with sassy comedy and the script meanders through the pretence of institutionalized religion. By the time the preachy climax rolls slowly and heavily through, the audience had a large chunk of the Godly perspective of the film. This is where the movie takes a giant leap and makes a thumping impression. Shukla also wins by not letting the audience realize the scenes with television type framing and meager production values. Most of the movie is a court sequence and that vouches the aforesaid fact. The film describes many religions, but a special appearance by a Hindu God Krishna makes it a bit confusing, nevertheless it’s entertaining. The impeccable pace of the film makes the audience spell-bound.

With a finley etched character, Paresh Rawal is full of entertainment and that makes the first half a whiff of air. Comedy is his key strength and that gets skyrocketed in the film, because he has reprised his role from the play which he effortlessly pulled off with poise for many years.  Akshay Kumar has very little to offer than posing in some Godly yet humanly costumes and wearing a big grin. The major part of the second half revolves around Akshay - Paresh repartee. It’s good to see them together after a long while and their chemistry is magical. Amar Mohile’s background score is impressive especially the divine flute bits.

Bottom-line: The film is a brave attempt and writing a review is challenging though. You should shut your atheist – theist side of yours and watch the film, because there’s a problem of using your perspective to watch the film. If you are blind-folded by religion you may not appreciate the film because you may feel that the gap between you and spirituality is widened, and you simply negate this film as a clichéd comedy. On the contrary, atheists will be astonished at the viewpoint the film takes because it’s not involved in quizzing the very existence of God. So, watch this taut and touchy take on organized religion with an open mind. OMG is an entertaining, inspiring and enlightening DIVINE COMEDY!!

My Rating: Expectation – 5/10; Reality – 8/10