Movie Review | A 'divine comedy' this Friday: OMG makes you re-believe!

The existence of God as a theme has intrigued philosophers and creative minds for years together. This Friday we see another creative product on the box office through the comedy master’ Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal coming back together with Oh My God – OMG!

 

When a film is titled Oh My God, is ought to start on a ‘godly’ note. The opening scenes very smoothly give the audiences a gist of the characters they will see for the next two hours on screen. The film revolves around Paresh Rawal who plays Kanji Mehta, an atheist and cynical Gujarati businessman, who makes a living by running an antique shop in Mumbai. Produced by Ashvini Yardi, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, OMG is written by Bhavesh Mandalia, Umesh Shukla. Directed by Umesh Shukla, OMG - Oh My God is adapted from the hugely popular play Kishan vs Kanhaiya by Bhavesh Mandalia which has had 450-plus shows in Gujarati, 150 in Hindi and 100 in Marathi.

 

 

Like a true businessman, he sees business opportunity in everything, even in GOD! He makes smart deals by buying old – looking idols and other religious items, which he sells to gullible and innocent believers at double, triple or even 10 times the original price.

 

His world changes when his shop turns to rubbles after an earthquake in the city, following which his claims to the insurance company are rejected on the basis of the ‘Act of God’ clause. Frustrated, and left with no option, Kanji decides to file a case against God on the premise that if God is responsible for his loss, as said by the Insurance Company, then it is God’s responsibility to compensate him for his losses! For Kanji, God has been represented by religious leaders Swami Leeladhar (Mithun Chakrabarty, super), Siddheshwar (Govind Namdeo) and a salon-treated sanyasin Mata Gopi (Poonam Jhawar). It is during the court dealings that things become worse for Kanji as his wife and kids leave him.

 

But when the film is a fight with with GOD, how could the almighty star away from limelight. Akshay Kumar’s entry in the film is over-manipulated with very obvious computer graphics. Having said this, keeping this aside the chemistry between Krishna Vasudev Yadav – the ‘consultant’ and Kanji is worth the waiting for. With simple sarcasm, Kanji takes pot- shots on some of the highly practiced superstitions and the ‘gurus’ who keep harping on the ‘correct doing’ and ‘wrong doing’ of innocent believers.

 

Performance by non-believer Paresh Rawal is the backbone of the film along with healthy support by the ‘almighty’ Akshay Kumar. The other cast, including lawyer Hanif Quereshi played by veteran actor Om Puri, all have offered decent performances.  

 

The script is a little complex with a simple message, thus continuity in viewing is suggested. The guest performance by the dance master Prabhudeva and Akshay’s new lucky charm Sonakshi Sinha will be the chart-busters this festive season! The background music is well woven in the script.

 

The flipside of the coin is the ‘play – like’ production, which might give you a feeling of watching a theatre play. The in-film brand integration of products like Godrej – safe, Rolex watches, Honda Activa (though not promoted, but very visible in the film), Cafe Coffee Day and ABP news are very evident and obvious, but do not get heavy on the story of the film. 

 

Team Adgully gives the ‘divine comedy’ Oh My God a well deserved 3.5 stars out of 5!  OMG conveys a serious message – God is found in human beings, in light and unusual way, unlike the films of earlier times that were preachy and over – the – top! | By Ankita Tanna [ankita(at)adgully.com]