When you look at the story of OMG 2, the new Pankaj Tripathi starrer with an extended cameo by Akshay Kumar, the title and the sequel-like placement feels a bit inappropriate. While the first movie sort of questioned the concept of manmade religion and the exploitations based on those beliefs, this new sequel, directed by Amit Rai, takes a u-turn and somewhat justifies the existence of religion and labels it as progressive. The good thing about the outcome is that they are whitewashing religion for creating a debate around sex education.
Kanti Sharan Mudgal, our central character, runs a pooja store. One day he learns about an ignorant thing his son did after his son’s friends teased him about his reproductive organ. The teasing at one point crosses the limit, and a video that shows Kanti’s son in poor light goes viral on the internet. The school authorities decided to rusticate him. Clueless about what to do, Kanti sued multiple people, including the school itself, for not guiding his son correctly. We see how that seemingly bizarre case unfolds in court in OMG 2.
A movie that uses religion as a tool to convey sex education in a country like India feels like a wise move as an idea. The fact that OMG 2 is not that high on craft actually feels like a compromise that you are willing to overlook, considering the broad appeal it might have. For a mainstream Hindi film with a superstar, the level of pushing they have done is quite appreciable. And they are not creating humor that has the texture of a sex comedy. The humor is derived mainly from people’s ignorance and how it is considered a taboo topic to discuss publicly. The cinematic liberties are pretty evident in the court proceedings. But the consistency with which the movie places a debate-worthy topic into the screenplay keeps it in that engaging zone.
As the central character Pankaj Tripathi gets into the skin of Kanti effortlessly and in his typical style, he pulls off the innocence and guilt of a middle-class man very neatly without overdoing it. As advocate Kamini (an interesting name chosen to create irony), Yami Gautam portrayed the character in her usual confident style, which we have seen in Batti Gul Meter Chalu. Pavan Malhotra as the judge, also delivered a memorable performance. Akshay Kumar as the man sent by Lord Shiva, has less screen time compared to the Umesh Shukla film. The basic charm you expect to see in a God-like character was there in Kumar’s performance. Geeta Agrawal as, Kanti’s wife, was hilarious in her character.
As I said, Amit Rai is trying to make it a gallery pleasing fun courtroom drama. Barring the school, the movie’s main villain, every other person is introduced to us and primarily kept in a humorous space. Despite being loud and preachy, what keeps this movie lively is the way it presents challenges in front of Kanti and uses the God character to help him with a tip rather than doing any major magic. When Kanti accuses the school of not adding Sex Education as an extracurricular learning, Kamini uses the point of teaching swimming, which immediately feels like a valid point to the character and a layman-audience. The movie also manages to establish the fact that sex education is not confined to the mere knowledge of having sex, and proper knowledge can actually make people more sensitive and eventually help us in becoming a more civilized society.
There are a lot of shifts in terms of the conflict and tonality from the previous film, and hence I don’t think a comparison between the two makes sense. The intervention of God was essential for the first part. Here he is just a well-wisher who isn’t really unavoidable. The relevance of the topic and the placement of humor and sentiments make it a film worth a watch.
The relevance of the topic and the placement of humor and sentiments make it a film worth a watch.
Signal
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended