Contriving a conflict between a rational agnostic and gargoyle-like godmen , OMG Oh My God, is the sort of exercise that compels you to quit believing in Bollywood cinema. Hey if this is supposed to be entertainment, then you might as well pray for its rescue from the lowest depths it’s fast sinking into. Honestly, the outcome’s a punishment.
Bhavesh Mandalia’s popular Gujarati play Kanji Viruddh Kanji – also a house full draw in Hindi as Krishan vs Kanhaiya – should have remained a theatrical experience. On screen, it is much too self-consciously clever. Worse, it is so raucously narrated that you wish you had vegetated instead on your couch. Home shanti home really.
Presumably, Paresh Rawal who has pulled in enormous crowds at every stage show of Krishan vs Kanhaiya was convinced that its film adaptation was a sure bet commercially. Not surprisingly, the actor’s billed as co-producer, and is supported by star prop Akshay Kumar. Plus, there’s the item number Go Govinda featuring Prabhu Deva, with Sonakshi Sinha who shows off a pair of two left feet. Ms Sinha’s dance moves are close to pathetic. Yikes.
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.
For a mainstream film that takes on such a massively sensitive subject as religion, and insists on being funny while making its arguments, OMG is a resounding success.
verdict
