OMG – Oh My God!

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OMG – Oh My God!
Viacom18 Motion Pictures
Wave Cinemas[3]
Release date
  • 28 September 2012 (2012-09-28)
Running time
130 minutes[4]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget20 crores[5]
Box office149.90 crores[6]

Oh My God! is a 2012 Indian Hindi language

Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, S Spice Studios, Grazing Goat Pictures and Playtime Creations. The storyline is based on the Gujarati stage-play Kanji Virudh Kanji, which itself was inspired by the Australian film The Man Who Sued God
.

The film stars

Made on a budget of 20 crore (US$2.4 million), the film released on 28 September 2012 and received positive reviews from critics.[8][9]

It was remade in Telugu as

Sudeep
.

A

Lord Shiva's messenger, along with Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam
in other lead roles, was theatrically released on 11 August 2023.

Plot

Kanji Lalji Mehta, a middle-class

atheist, owns a shop of Hindu idols and antiques in Mumbai
. He mocks religious activities around him until one day, a low-intensity earthquake hits the city, with Kanji's shop being the only one destroyed; his family and friends blame this on his atheism.

At the insurance office, Kanji learns that the disaster claim does not cover any damage caused by natural calamities classified under "Act of God". Running out of options, he decides to sue God but fails to find a lawyer for such a lawsuit. Hanif Qureshi, a working class Muslim lawyer, helps him file the case after Kanji decides to fight on his own. Legal notices are sent to the insurance company as well as to religious people like Siddheshwar Maharaj, Gopi Maiyya, and their group's founder, Leeladhar Swamy, forcing them to court as representatives of God.

As the court case commences and gains attraction for its bizarre quality, Kanji finds himself facing armed fundamentalists and harassment, with his mortgage provider occupying the house, and his family leaving him. He is then rescued by Krishna Vasudev Yadav who claims to be a real estate agent originally from Gokul, Uttar Pradesh, yet is also responsible for supernatural acts outside of the human realm.

The lawsuit causes a public outcry. On Krishna's advice, Kanji goes to the media and gets wide coverage. Sympathisers join him in the lawsuit, causing the amount of claims to skyrocket and

paralyzed
. When he opens his eyes after a month, he finds Krishna, who reveals that he is god, and proves it by curing Kanji completely. He further reveals that He created the entire world, animals and humans but religion was created by humans, and he was the one who destroyed Kanji's shop because he sought to punish the godmen who showed his fear to the public, to earn money. He adds that he created the entire world and thus does not like to live in temples contrary to what the godmen claims and he is not interested in the offerings he gets from devotees. Instead, he created millions of humans who die of hunger and would be glad if those offerings were given to them instead. He figured out that an atheist like Kanji would end up exposing them if he destroys his Shop, and thus destroyed it by causing the disaster and started to help him with lawsuit by appearing as a human and befriending him and revealed himself in his true form so that Kanji realises that although he does exist, he does not live in temples, but in every creature he created.

Kanji learns that the lawsuit's verdict was in his favour, and religious organizations were ordered by the court to pay the compensation to all the plaintiffs. As a result of this, people have begun revering Kanji himself as a god. Leeladhar, Gopi Maiyya, and Siddheshwar have taken advantage of this by opening a temple dedicated to Kanji, and accumulating millions in donations. Krishna explains to Kanji that his job as God is to show people right and wrong – people do with it what they will. Kanji decides to fight back. He breaks his own statue, admonishing the crowd about trusting in God-men. He advises them to search for God in themselves and in others, not in statues; that God is everywhere, not just in temples, and faith should come from within. He tells them not to believe in fraudulent godmen, as their job is to turn religion into business.

After successfully completing the job, he goes back to thank Krishna, only to find that he along with his motorcycle has disappeared. Kanji’s family arrives and they get reunited. Kanji sees Krishna's keychain on the ground. When he is about to keep it, he hears Krishna's voice, telling him to get rid of the keychain as fear of God and reliance on religious objects was what he'd fought against. Kanji smiles and throws it away, watching as it disappears into the sky with a flash.[1]

Cast

Production

Rawal on the sets with actor Akshay Kumar

Producer Akshay Kumar announced the film in 2012. Paresh Rawal who appeared in the original play Kishen vs Kanhaiya was cast in the lead role with Akshay Kumar playing the role of Krishna in the movie.[1] Mithun Chakraborty played a supporting role in the film. The filming was reported to have begun in January 2012.[10] Director Prabhu Deva appeared in an item number along with Sonakshi Sinha.[11][12][13][14][15]

Soundtrack

OMG – Oh My God!
Feature film soundtrack
LabelT-Series
Producer
  • Himesh Reshammiya
  • Sachin–Jigar
  • Meet Bros Anjjan

The soundtrack of OMG – Oh My God! was composed by

Aman Trikha and Parash Nath. The full audio album was launched on 12 September 2012 by T-Series. The song, 'Go Go Go Govinda' is based on the song 'Govinda Aala Re Aala' from Bluff Master (1963), sung by Mohammed Rafi
.

No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Don't Worry" (Hey Ram)
Meet Bros Anjjan
Parash Nath and Sunit Kumar02:07

Release

OMG – Oh My God! released worldwide on 28 September 2012.[1]

Critical reception

OMG received positive critical reviews.[16]

Rediff rated it 4 out of 5 reviewing "A brave and absorbing blend of satire, fable and fantasy that brings our attention to the misuse and commercialisation of religion".[18] Faisal Saif of Independent Bollywood rated it 4 out of 5 and said "Strongly Recommended. Fearless concept with some Fearless performances".[19]

Box office

The film had a low opening but showed good growth on its 2nd and 3rd day and collected 30 million (US$360,000) nett in its opening weekend.

US$2.5 million in 10 days.[25] At the end of 17 days, OMG – Oh My God! had grossed 104.5 million (US$1.3 million).[26]

Awards

The movie was awarded the Best Hindi film award by Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) during the second IRDS Hindi Film Awards for social concern. The film has won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 60th National Film Awards.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Taran Adarsh. "OMG Oh My God! Cast & Crew". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Akshay waiting for Twinkle to see 'Oh My God'". The Times of India. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Ponty Chadha's death is Bollywood's loss". Hindustan Times. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  4. ^ "OMG – OH MY GOD! (PG) – British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Oh my God, the film is a hit!". Hindustan Times. 2 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Akshay Kumar Box Office". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  7. ^ "The underlying message of Khiladi Kumar's forthcoming comedy". Bollywood Life. 17 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  8. ^ Shalvi Mangaokar (2 October 2012). "Oh my God, the film is a hit!". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  9. ^ "OMG (OH MY GOD) movie review". Review Gang. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Special appearance in 'OMG'". The Times of India. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012. [dead link]
  11. IBN Live. 2 January 2012. Archived from the original
    on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Go Govinda Go: Sonakshi as first female to break Dahi Handi". www.yahoo.com. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Sonakshi Sinha only a special appearance in OMG Oh My God!". 29 August 2012.
  14. ^ "OMG! Oh My God song Go go Govinda holds a contest between burning coal and water fountain". 31 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Sonakshi, Prabhu Deva injured during 'OMG' shoot - Entertainment - Celebrity Gossip - Emirates24|7". www.emirates247.com. 12 July 2012.
  16. ^ "Oh My God Reviews". Indicine. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  17. ^ Adarsh, Taran (27 September 2012). "Taran Adarsh review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  18. ^ Verma, Sukanya (28 September 2012). "Review: OMG – Oh My God is brave and absorbing". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  19. ^ Saif, Faisal. "OMG: Oh My God". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  20. ^ "OMG! Oh My God Picks Up Over Weekend". Box Office India. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  21. ^ "OMG! Oh My God Week One Territorial Breakdown". Box Office India. 1 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  22. ^ "Aiyaa Bhoot Returns Dull Oh! My God Excellent Second Week". Box Office India. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012.
  23. ^ "Student of the Year Opens Well Oh! My God Excellent Third Week". Box Office India. 20 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  24. ^ Yadav, Amit (25 October 2012). "OMG! Oh My God Week Four Box Office Collection – Upcoming Movies Release Date". UMD. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  25. ^ "English Vinglish Is Excellent Overseas". Box Office India. 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  26. ^ "Aiyaa Bhoot Returns Dull English Vinglish Is HIT Overseas". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012.
  27. ^ "OMG, Paan Singh Tomar receive awards for spreading social messages | Indian Television Dot Com". Indiantelevision.com. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2014.

External links