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OMG – Oh My God!

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OMG – Oh My God!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byUmesh Shukla[1]
Written byUmesh Shukla
Saumya Joshi
Bhavesh Mandalia
Based onKanji Virrudh Kanji[2]
The Man Who Sued God
Produced byAkshay Kumar
B.K. Modi
Vikram Malhotra
StarringParesh Rawal
Akshay Kumar
Mithun Chakraborty
CinematographySethu Sriram
Edited byTushar Shivan
Rajesh Panchal
Music byScore:
Amar Mohile
Songs:
Himesh Reshammiya
Sachin–Jigar
Meet Bros. Anjjan
Production
companies
Distributed byViacom18 Motion Pictures
Wave Cinemas[3]
Release date
  • 28 September 2012 (2012-09-28)
Running time
130 minutes[4]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹20 crores[5]
Box office₹149.90 crores[6]

Oh My God! is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language satirical comedy drama film written and directed by Umesh Shukla and produced by 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 Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar, and Mithun Chakraborty, along with Om Puri, Govind Namdeo, Poonam Jhawer, Puja Gupta, and Mahesh Manjrekar in pivotal roles.[7]

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

It was remade in Telugu as Gopala Gopala (2015) with Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan, and Shriya Saran. It was also remade in Kannada as Mukunda Murari (2016) with Upendra and Sudeep.

A stand-alone sequel, OMG 2, with Akshay Kumar starring as Lord Shiva's messenger, along with Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam in other lead roles, was theatrically released on 11 August 2023.

Plot

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Kanji Lalji Mehta, a middle-class Gujarati 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 number of claims to skyrocket and Catholic fathers and Muslim Maulvis to also be forced as defendants. When the court demands written proof that the earthquake was an 'Act of God,' Krishna steers Kanji toward holy books such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Quran, and the Bible. Kanji reads them and finds a passage in each that says the world and all events are a creation of God and come from God's will alone. This strengthens his case and increases public support. However, Kanji suffers a stroke in court and is rushed to the hospital, where he goes into a coma and is 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 claim, 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 destroyed his shop, and thus destroyed it by causing the disaster, and started to help him with the lawsuit by appearing as a human, befriending him, and revealing 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 and his motorcycle have 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 were what he'd fought against. Kanji smiles and throws it away, watching as it disappears into the sky with a flash.[1]

Cast

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Production

[edit]
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

[edit]
OMG – Oh My God!
Soundtrack album by
Himesh Reshammiya, Sachin–Jigar, Meet Bros Anjjan and Zubeen Garg
Released12 September 2012
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelT-Series
Producer
  • Himesh Reshammiya
  • Sachin–Jigar
  • Meet Bros Anjjan

The soundtrack of OMG – Oh My God! was composed by Himesh Reshammiya, Sachin–Jigar and Meet Bros Anjjan whilst the lyrics were penned by Shabbir Ahmed, Kumaar, Swanand Kirkire and Subrat Sinha. The album features vocals by Reshammiya, Shreya Ghoshal, Kailash Kher, Benny Dayal, Ash King, Suraj Jagan, Keerthi Sagathia, Zubeen Garg, Meet Bros Anjjan, Arya Acharya, Mohammed Irfan, 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)Subrat SinhaHimesh ReshammiyaHimesh Reshammiya, Benny Dayal, Arya Acharya05:04
2."Mere Nishaan"KumaarMeet Bros AnjjanKailash Kher, Meet Bros Anjjan05:00
3."Tu Hi Tu"Shabbir AhmedHimesh ReshammiyaMohammad Irfan04:07
4."Go Go Go Govinda"Shabbir AhmedHimesh ReshammiyaMika Singh, Shreya Ghoshal05:06
5."Hari Bol"Swanand KirkireSachin–JigarKeerthi Sagathia04:37
6."Tu Hi Tu" (Reprise)Shabbir AhmedHimesh ReshammiyaSuraj Jagan04:07
7."Oh My God" (Title Track)Sameer AnjaanHimesh ReshammiyaZubeen Garg01:28
8."Tu Hi Tu" (Unplugged)Shabbir AhmedHimesh ReshammiyaAsh King03:09
9."Go Go Govinda" (Reprise)Swanand KirkireHimesh ReshammiyaAman Trikha, Shreya Ghoshal05:08
10."Don't Worry" (Remix)Shabbir AhmedHimesh ReshammiyaHimesh Reshammiya, Benny Dayal, Arya Acharya03:31
11."Tu Hi Tu" (Remix)Shabbir AhmedHimesh ReshammiyaMohammad Irfan04:17
12."Krishna Theme" (Flute) Meet Bros AnjjanParash Nath and Sunit Kumar02:07

Release

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

Critical reception

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OMG received positive critical reviews.[16]

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that OMG – OH MY GOD! was a "thought-provoking adaptation of a massively successful play. A movie tackling a sensitive and an untouched subject matter, it will find its share of advocates and adversaries, but the social message the movie conveys comes across loud and clear and that's one of the prime reasons why OMG becomes a deserving watch".[17] Sukanya Verma of 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

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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.[20] Despite a slow start, the film managed to gross collections of ₹357.4 million (US$4.3 million) nett in its first week.[21] The film collected ₹220 million (US$2.6 million) in its second week.[22] The film continued its successful run in its third week and make a total of around ₹725.0 million (US$8.7 million) in three weeks.[23] The film raked another ₹62.4 million (US$750,000) in its fourth week to make a total of ₹782.4 million (US$9.4 million) in four weeks.[24] Overseas, OMG – Oh My God! grossed 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

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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

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References

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  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. ^ "Akshay and Paresh together again?". 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.
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