Oh My God is a brave and absorbing blend of satire, fable and fantasy that brings our attention to the misuse and commercialisation of religion, writes Sukanya VermaGod 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.
OMG-Oh My God creates a hard-hitting premise where its lead protagonist decides to dispute this rigid system by dragging God and the business of religion to court.
Based on the successful Gujarati play Kanji Viruddh Kanji, also adapted in Hindi as Krishan vs Kanhaiya, which itself drew inspiration from The Man Who Sued God, Oh My God, co-written (with Bhavesh Mandalia) and directed by Umesh Shukla, is a brave and absorbing blend of satire, fable and fantasy that brings our attention to the misuse and commercialisation of religion.
It all starts after an agnostic antique seller Kanjilal Mehta (Paresh Rawal) loses his shop in a (super)natural calamity. He can't claim insurance for the damage since its falls under the 'Act of God.'
Enraged, he files a case against God and submits the address of all prominent religious establishments triggering nationwide hue and cry. Even though Kanjilal does not subscribe to the idea of a supreme being and addresses idols of worship as 'toys,' he's respectful of others' beliefs (Main sab Dharmon ka aadar karta hoon aur kissi dharm ko maanta nahi hoon.)
His own wife maintains a small temple space and believes in the power of prayers and fasting. Most of his scorn is expressed through witty banter and dismissive conclusions -- Yeh Aastha channel mat shuru karna.
Through the development of this lawsuit, Oh My God strives to seek metaphors between Kanji's absence of faith and an ardent struggle to expose the ugly face of the ridiculously rich Godmen and their widespread political connections. All of this, of course, is parodied to hilarious effect so that the message is both relevant and entertaining.
A bald, banana-chomping Hindu preacher (Govinda Namdeo who after a subdued turn in Heroine is back to his trademark hamming in costume) sneaks into the washroom to wolf down a hidden vada pav in the dustbin even as the country assumes he's on a, ahem, hunger strike.
A creepy spiritual guru (Mithun Chakraborty delivers a caricaturish performance that sporadically works if you can focus beyond his hand movement) leaves his footmarks on a white tile which is then sold for an obscene amount. A heavily made-up Sadhvi (Poonam Jhawer,best-remembered for playing Sunil Shetty's expressionless wife in Mohra)
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