OMG - Oh My God! Movie Reviews

Kishan Vs Kanhaiya is possibly the marquee stage production in the country. It is also the source material for Oh My God! No surprises then that the film serves up quality content, as it successfully emulates the intelligence, insight and humour of the original play. But in the context of a major movie production, it doesn’t quite serve up enough. It packs strong on content, but it is slightly off the cue on execution

Kanji Lalji Mehta is a atheist. But not just any old atheist: he’s the sort of unbeliever who has no qualms about milking overly gullible believers, especially if they happen to be cash cows. In an early scene in Umesh Shukla’s OMG Oh My God, an old Marwari seth walks into Kanjibhai’s shop full of bric-a-brac and sets his heart on a particular statue of Krishna – one which Kanjibhai, having concocted for it an entirely fictitious backstory involving

It actually transpired in 2008 in Nebraska in the United States. A Senator filed a lawsuit against God, seeking a ruling against "God's harmful activities". The grievance got instantly dismissed by the court because God could not be notified for the lack of a proper address. Much earlier, in 2001, in an Australian movie THE MAN WHO SUED GOD, starring Billy Connolly and directed by Mark Joffe, a fisherman defies an insurance company which rejected compensation

Straight on, OMG is Paresh Rawal's movie - and one of his best. Akshay Kumar plays a small and sacred role but OMG is largely powered by Rawal's performance as Kanjilal Mehta, a cynical Gujarati shopkeeper in Mumbai's Chor Bazaar, hardcore atheist who merrily dupes the believing into buying Krishna statues before whom Kanji trills, "Kootchie kootchie, natkhat!" The atheist even disrupts a matki phoro ceremony for Krishna where, despite

God is a personal choice and open to interpretation. His origins are undefined and range from mystical to scientific. He is someone, we are deeply conditioned to have faith in and never question. Religion is man-made. Its original purpose was to function as a discipline and technique, guiding the progress of spiritual conscience, before its ideals were completely distorted to set up a dogmatic rulebook of blind devotion, intimidating myths and ritualistic lifestyle

There’s a scene in the film where God saves a middle class man from a godman’s hooligans, who try to kill him. It’s a little tacky especially the CG bits of it, and classically Bollywood with Akshay Kumar making his entry as Krishna himself, suited to the nines and on his roaring motorbike. In its theme and visuals, this scene is a perfect representation of the whole film - a strong idea packaged rather shabbily. Based on a Gujarati play Kanji Viruddh Kanji

Many are going to feel offended. But if you scratch the surface, you will see the truth behind this teaching. In a country plagued by religious beliefs, OH MY GOD! comes as a bold move. A move that is likely to be viewed fanatically by those immersed in religious rituals forgetting the simple truth of living. But for those with wisdom, this movie is like, "Oh My God. Really!" Kudos to director Umesh Shukla and his entire cast and crew and those behind the scenes

In a country like India that is widely God-fearing, a film like OMG Oh My God, that fearlessly and unwaveringly raises fingers at the commonplace commercialization of religious customs, is certainly an audacious attempt. Oh My God shouldn't be mistaken to be a film that endorses atheism. Rather it questions blind faith. Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal) makes a living out of selling idols of God but is himself a staunch disbeliever. When his shop is shattered

On the whole, OMG – OH MY GOD! is 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 – OH MY GOD! becomes a deserving watch.

In the end, the message that is preached is the simple truth I spoke of in the beginning. That of loving. God is within all of us. We all have to look within, instead of running here and there in search of God. Someone has rightly said, stones enter the temple and become gods, we enter the temple and still remain stones!

In the past few weeks, we have had some ‘highly entertaining’ films and the ones that tried to make any sense were excused by being just a form of entertainment. After a long time, one gets to witness meaningful cinema which takes a bold step towards questioning a trait personal to every individual — faith in the divine power. Adapted from a Gujarati play named Kanji Virrudh Kanji, Oh My God is for one a sardonic take on blind faith and people’s belief in God men

Oh. My.God. I said this aloud when the film began, my reaction one of blank surprise and then delight. In the current atmosphere of rising conservatism and religious extremism, was it really possible to have a film which would talk up the ills attached to religious practices? Could a filmmaker be brave enough, and that’s the only word that comes to mind, to take on all those thousands of outraged souls who’d be shown up for what they indulge in daily

God as a Bollywood hero is obviously not much of a casting headache if Akshay Kumar is on board as actor-co producer in your film. The dapper star has the look, the grin, the screen presence and fan power. Put him on a superbike or give him a bansuri to play, Akshay is just the right fit as Krishna Vasudev Yadav from Mathura. OMG: Oh My God! however sees the screen god make space for an actor who has basically made his mark over the decades playing out

Does God exist? But it’s not really a battle between atheist and believer out here. The ultimate message of OMG is to demolish the need for costly rituals and middle-men who’ve turned God and religion into lucrative commerce. It’s an irony. Businessman Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal) is an atheist but he makes a comfortable income from peddling religion by selling a variety of idols. After he disrupts a ‘Go go Govinda’ celebration in his natural disdain

Oh. My.God. I said this aloud when the film began, my reaction one of blank surprise and then delight. In the current atmosphere of rising conservatism and religious extremism, was it really possible to have a film which would talk up the ills attached to religious practices? Could a filmmaker be brave enough, and that’s the only word that comes to mind, to take on all those thousands of outraged souls who’d be shown up for what they indulge in daily

For years, Hindi film audiences have seen a variety of folks visiting temples. Ailing mothers beg God to bring back their children, sons put their egos aside to pray for their mothers' health and couples sanctify their relationship in the presence of the Almighty for a happily-ever-after ending to their love story. Pious viewers might turn up their noses at the story of an atheist who publically denounces God but save that face, as this one doesn't disappoint

Umesh Shukla's film, 'OMG — Oh My God!' is a well-intentioned film but the execution could have been better. Shukla very competently succeeds in conveying the message that God has been reduced to mere symbolism in the modern world. Inspired by a Gujarati play, the plot is simple. Kanji Bhai (Paresh Rawal) is an atheist who owns an antique shop, he manages to cash in on the gullibility of blind believers to make a few extra bucks on the sale of their favourite deities

‘Oh My God’ gets a tad schmaltzy towards the end, but I suppose that was the only way this piece of mildly irreverent tongue-in-cheek look at` ishwar-paigambar-isaah masih’ could close.

For a change we have a film that doesn’t have the mandatory romance, but instead talks about something serious, but in a funny way. Even though he doesn’t play the lead role, ironically this is also Akshay Kumar’s most watchable film in a long time.

f one talks about the other aspects of the film, from music to cinematography, they all seem pretty decent. If this movie works for you it’s because of Paresh and the fresh take at religion. Go watch it. It might be ages since we come across a decent comedy.

To wrap up, ‘OMG Oh My God!’ is a film that is undoubtedly one that rests solely on the shoulders of Paresh Rawal, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the man takes away the award for the ‘Best Male Debut’ this year. Akshay Kumar, as the 21st-century Krishna, offers a much-welcome break to his audience. The ‘Divine Comedy’ doesn’t bore. Watch the film for a lot of things – Paresh Rawal being the top of the list!

OMG Oh My God! is about something that touches all our lives - religion. It is a film about our relationship with God, how instead of being God-loving, we have become God-fearing. How religion has become a business run by godmen (here aptly referred to as 'salesmen') who aren't in fact very spiritual at all. A note to atheists and agnostics - the film is not an endorsement of those views. It insists on the existence of God. Kanji Lalji Mehta, played by Paresh Rawal

Does god exist? Can god take credit for all things good and shoulder the blame for all things bad? Should our acknowledgment of the higher being be personal or does it call for a public demonstration? Oh My God (OMG) attempts to answer all these questions — and then some more. A direct attack on the commercialisation of worship, blind beliefs and the waste of money in the name of religion, OMG is a novel premise which, however, falls grossly short on execution

When a film – or at least its voluble protagonist – questions the very existence of God, should its makers expect any divine help when it is stuck in a morass of mediocrity? Mercifully, OMG Oh My God!, for all its flaws, has the services of the redoubtable Paresh Rawal to fall back on. The thespian pulls off a rescue act that borders on the miraculous. As long as the accomplished Paresh Rawal, playing a wise-cracking agnostic who takes on a grotesque band of religious bigots

There’s no Believer knocking on your door and giving you a booklet about Him. Nor someone kicking a kitten and asking you, “Where’s your God now?” It’s a rather interesting take on God, his so-called “mediums” and the rituals that have been mindlessly passed on since generations. Sounds preachy? Well, the movie isn’t. Kanji (Paresh Rawal) is a not just an atheist, this non-believer exploits people’s faith to run his business

Oh My God!, adapted from the popular Gujarati play Kanji Viruddh Kanji (itself evidently inspired by the Australian film, The Man Who Sued God), makes a compelling argument against the commercialization of religion, but the tone of the film is so shrill, the approach so preachy, you feel like you’re being tied down and forced to listen to a sermon for two-and-a-half hours. Paresh Rawal stars as Kanjibhai Mehta, an antique-store owner in Chor Bazaar

It’s ironical that Oh My God releases just at a time when our city’s Ganpati Bappa celebrations are at a jumpingum pumpingum peak. As we keep getting bombarded with Jai Ganeshaay and Omkar Swarupa aartis and traffic jams at every corner, it’s pretty easy to warm to OMG’s theme – its strong debate against idol worship, blind superstition, divine bribes and glam spirituality. Oh, but it really turns out to be a pretty long statement

In a sea of dumb Bollywood comedies (many starring Akshay Kumar himself), this one at least starts off a debate. For that alone, it’s not entirely a write-off. I’m going with two out of five for Oh My God!. Carry cotton for your ears to drown out all the shouting!