Oh My God! ...review

“Go back to the books that claim divinity... and snuff out the burning candles of ignorance” 

…shouts the movie - ‘Oh My God!’

With the start of the movie I had in mind – would be crap fun; since the cast includes Paresh Rawal, Akhshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty.. As the movie progressed, I still had the same thoughts –giggling and laughing my wits off mindlessly over this “divine comedy” …until the climax of the movie –when I really could relate the beginning (with the help of flashbacks ofcourse ;P ) with its strong social message. Though the song ‘Go-Go Govinda’ felt very forceful, on me as audience, in such a beautiful movie.

The movie gradually made everything fall in place in my mind(as a critical viewer –I suppose) –i.e. the sequential progression of the concept of ‘selling God’ through traditions, and other means from small scale (the gujrati Kanjibhai) to large scale (with the fake Godmen); It highlights effectively on all the possible backlashes of situations such as-  not following blind faith, questioning the rituals and the diplomatic laws of Insurance Companies, suing God (indirectly), or even dieing in the process. 

Indeed a well-thought and well written script that conveyed not just one message; Bringing to light a few:- God is everywhere, Lord is one; religion can either make you a ritual freak or a terrorist, to please Lord –feed the needy, not the Lord whose the Absolute Being; don’t be a double-face fool (for the godmen), (And for the men); follow faith -not with fear, but with knowledge, wisdom and love for the One who created us; to speak to the Lord –all you got to do is read the sacred book.

The latter had not only amazed the spectators in the courtroom(in the movie), but also the spectators around me watching the movie. It was a bit strange for me to digest that many of my own fellow mates were like –“all this is mentioned in these books?!!”    …Yes! These sacred books not only praise the Lord, speak about heaven, hell, predictions, morals, but also about embryology, geology, cosmic and physical science.

The movie, thus, also subtly conveys that God’s words as revealed in these sacred texts  is very relevant for us in today’s times, for it’s an important way in which we, as human beings, access that personal relationship with our Creator. In relation to the common question of whether the text is pretty old and needs to be updated, we need to understand that God’s word is not like human words, rather it is four, five infinitely dimensional, and has many hidden layers of meaning which come to life in different ages, different settings, different contexts, and always provides us with new surprises with new spectra of meaning as we reflect it through the prism of our day to day experiences. Ehmm... We seriously need to go back and enlighten ourselves.

Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukla –I tag them as the Johnathan Swift(s) of India; who through their work “Oh My God!” have attempted to make a wide conservative Indian audience digest the cumbersome social messages with elements of (maybe never thought of) tales and humour.

Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal)–an atheist who loves his life, and family –undergoes a change with the developing story, where he mocks the concept of existence of God; at them same time takes advantage of this belief of a majority by selling religious idols on double or more prices through deceitful means. For his mockery and fun, he is punished with loss in his business following a natural calamity; yet he adamantly claims his insurance, where he learns of the existence of God in the clause that his shop is covered under all calamities, but for an "Act of God", there is no cover. Thus, the insurance company is not liable to pay Kanjibhai a single ‘naiya paisa.’ 

A series of hilarious events unfolds thereafter with Kanjibhai’s fury on the company’s head, his decision to sue God, and since God has no address- his notices are sent to all temples where there is uproar amongst pandits and babas. With no lawyer willing to fight his case, Kanjibhai fights it himself; he soon receives immense support, and also agrees to fight many cases of people who have lost their insurance because of the same –i.e. the "Act of God" clause.

Akshay Kumar, as God, visits Kanjibhai, and is with him through the fight against himself. He urges Kanjibhai to read the holy books when he gets stuck in his case, assuring him that he will find all his answers there. He does- as he boldly quotes the Bhagwad Gita, the Qur’aan the Bible in court to baffle the 'holy ones.' He shocks the radicals and the phoney gurus with his simple truth –of loving.

Inspite of all the good he does in the process of creating awareness amongst people, he is punished with partial paralysis for his stubborn defiance of God. This situation is used by the phony gurus as an opportunity to earn back all the money given away as they lost the case. What do they do?!! [chained my fingers …I will now let you also shed some money for this worth watch movie, and not "say it al."]

Stark realities and dark truths are brought in the climax –like serving milk which practically goes down the drains, selling the foot-prints of the guru, and other money making gimmicks. One way to keep the occasional dullness at bay is to trying twigging on to who these filmi characters are imitating. Not too hard to do if one have had been following the news for the last year, full as it has been with rich religious trusts, globe-trotting ‘swamis’, and the kind of under-the-table scams that goes on in the name of religion. The millions that are spent on mindless rituals instead of helping the poor and needy.. Thus the movie impresses us with its sensitive take on devotion.

Religion binds people to God; In this context, its really important in this present world climate to bear in mind that religion  does not become more important than the one who is at the heart of that religion; ie. God. ‘Religion’ or ‘deen’ is a way of life- a way of life that covers al aspects of waking, sleeping, and relationship with one another Relationships with God take considerably more precedence than relationships with ones religious identity and rituals. Through this relationship with God, we can surely be bound to one another. For, to please God and make stronger this relationship we wish to share with the Lord –its not the rituals and customs we practice that pleases the Lord; but our character and deeds. 

In the end, I would say –Yes, a one time see only; And for the rational audience I would add further-- …please don’t leave your brains at home or your work or study place. Use them; then protest, revolt against such mindless customs; and yes, be agile and non-violent in the process.