OMG2 Review: Engaging and Compelling!

OMG2

Producer- Akshay Kumar,Swaroop Sampat Rawal, Ashwin Varde, Vipul D Shah etc

Director- Amit Rai

Cast- Pankaj Tripathi, Yami Gautam Dhar, Akshay Kumar, Govind Namdeo, Arun Govil and Parag Chapekar

Platform of Release- Theatres

Rating-

By Jyothi Venkatesh

To sum up, the film OMG 2, a sequel to OMG though the premise is completely different from the earlier one, I all about an ardent diehard bhakt of Lord Shiva, Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi) is forced to question his own thoughts and societal norms on morality, religion and sex after his only teenager son Vivek (Aarush Varma) gets expelled from school on grounds of obscenity, after a video by an anonymous person captures him masturbating in the school washroom.

When his distraught son attempts to commit suicide and mental health declines owing to humiliation and bullying, by his colleagues in his school, the overtly religious and God-fearing Kanti opens his eyes and questions his own understanding of being a parent and an adult and decides to sue the school for the mental harassment caused to his son the school appoints English speaking Kamini Maheshwari (Yami Gautam) as their defense lawyer.

Their contradicting views and verbal exchange in court in front of a rather delightful judge (Pavan Malhotra as Judge Purushottam Nagar) forms the story, with Kamini arguing that ‘masturbation is a sin’, and that our conservative society isn’t ready for sex education yet. Most importantly, the bold film is a courageous attempt to understand the unspoken distance between desi parents and their children.

Also read: Pankaj Tripathi: “While I was searching for roles earlier, now good roles are searching for me as actor”

The director peddles the view rightly that while porn is accessible freely on the internet all over the world, sex education is a taboo and drives home the fact that women can perhaps be safer in the country if men knew more about their sexual needs and boundaries. Though his part is comparatively small, it is interesting to see Akshay Kumar, who had a cameo in the previous franchise of the film in a larger part playing the messenger of God (altered from playing God to his messenger after the CBFC modification).

The best thing about the film OMG 2 is that it boasts of a very talented ensemble cast. Pankaj Tripathi is excellent as a father torn between guilt and anger. Yami Gautam is sincere but one wonders why there has been an attempt to project her as a menacing lawyer. The film is engaging as well as compelling and needs to be made entertainment tax free all over the country in spite of its adult-oriented content.

Arun Govil impresses in a small role while journalist turned actor Parag Chapekar is good in his small part as medical shop owner. Govind Namdeo also is impressive. The makers of the film OMG2 show you how a film can be entertaining, socially relevant and also at the same time informative and one doesn’t need to leave his or her brain behind to have a good laugh.