I love to watch movies and listen to music, especially Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri, and sometimes English songs. I normally don't discuss movies on my blog. My movie-watching habit sometimes landed me in trouble during my childhood days, but that's not the point of discussion here. Many movies have left a deep impact on my mind and it will be really interesting to discuss them sometime. I discussed about Marathi movie "Deool' a few months ago. Recently I saw Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar starer movie 'Oh my God' (OMG). I really loved the movie and I think it's a unique movie in many ways. I know that it won't be a blockbuster at the box office, and may not create controversy which movies like Fire or Water or the recent video clip 'Innocence of Muslims' created. The production values of the movie are also not that great. There are regular masala elements in this movie (like item song), so technically it's not a classic or critic's choice or anything but still it's a different and brave attempt and needs applause for a few very good reasons.
The storyline is very simple. It's a story about an atheist who sues God because his property gets destroyed by a natural disaster and the insurance company refuses to honor his claim. This is the first time I saw in a Hindi movie where an atheist was not forced to beg God or finally land in a temple accepting his mistake (of being an atheist, remember that famous scene in Deewar where Amitabh's character visits the temple to beg for his mother's life). It is true that at the end of the movie Paresh Raval's character accepts the existence of God but he never enters the temple (because he believes that that's not the place where one can find God), and this was a bold enough leap by a Hindi movie. The main protagonist of the movie Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal) never compromises on his beliefs, and some of his comments about the current state of religion in India are very interesting. The movie showed the paradox of society which I often talk about, a society where people fear God, but claim that they love God. They care about god and its places of worship but fail to protect their fellow citizens in the event of crises. In today's world, all religious institutions and cult movements are like big business houses and they all are very rich and never face any recession. Religion is used freely in politics, society, and families for so many purposes and this movie comments on almost every aspect of it.
Mostly the reference is to the Hindu religion and its Gods because the movie is mainly targeted toward the Indian audience but it also makes passing remarks about Islam and Christianity. The movie also makes very harsh remarks against cult movements where people start worshiping some person thinking him/her an incarnation or messenger of God. It also questions whether we really need to waste so much money to construct so many temples, mosques, or churches in India where so many people don't even get enough food to survive. It also makes fun of any type of mechanical worship (including idol worship), no movie ever dared to do this in mainstream Hindi cinema. The movie is not all about criticism or sarcasm directed toward religious beliefs, it also takes care that it doesn't hurt conventional religious beliefs and sentiments. It delivers punches at the right places and maintains a sarcastic tone but it doesn't try to preach an atheist philosophy or make fun of people's belief in God. It tries to show the difference between faith and blind faith, love for God, and fear for God. It also shows how religion has become a big business now and how these so-called churches, temples, and mosques use people's emotions or fear to milk money from them in the name of God. It also shows how these people behave as if they are authorized agents of God. I can go on like this but I think it's better to watch the movie and decide for yourself.
For me, it was a good movie to watch, very good experience. I enjoyed it and I recommend it to everyone young and old, theists and atheists, watch it and I am sure you all will enjoy it. I know that a movie like this can not change the mentality of people. This mentality and blind faith are a result of the conditioning of the human mind for centuries, a planned and conscious effort of many organized religions and faiths. It will take many more movies like this, and many more blog posts to change anything related to religion and faith. This movie won't bring that change but I hope that it might initiate some discussion and that's what I am looking for. It tries to show us the mirror and let's see if people have the courage to look into that mirror.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
Mostly the reference is to the Hindu religion and its Gods because the movie is mainly targeted toward the Indian audience but it also makes passing remarks about Islam and Christianity. The movie also makes very harsh remarks against cult movements where people start worshiping some person thinking him/her an incarnation or messenger of God. It also questions whether we really need to waste so much money to construct so many temples, mosques, or churches in India where so many people don't even get enough food to survive. It also makes fun of any type of mechanical worship (including idol worship), no movie ever dared to do this in mainstream Hindi cinema. The movie is not all about criticism or sarcasm directed toward religious beliefs, it also takes care that it doesn't hurt conventional religious beliefs and sentiments. It delivers punches at the right places and maintains a sarcastic tone but it doesn't try to preach an atheist philosophy or make fun of people's belief in God. It tries to show the difference between faith and blind faith, love for God, and fear for God. It also shows how religion has become a big business now and how these so-called churches, temples, and mosques use people's emotions or fear to milk money from them in the name of God. It also shows how these people behave as if they are authorized agents of God. I can go on like this but I think it's better to watch the movie and decide for yourself.
For me, it was a good movie to watch, very good experience. I enjoyed it and I recommend it to everyone young and old, theists and atheists, watch it and I am sure you all will enjoy it. I know that a movie like this can not change the mentality of people. This mentality and blind faith are a result of the conditioning of the human mind for centuries, a planned and conscious effort of many organized religions and faiths. It will take many more movies like this, and many more blog posts to change anything related to religion and faith. This movie won't bring that change but I hope that it might initiate some discussion and that's what I am looking for. It tries to show us the mirror and let's see if people have the courage to look into that mirror.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)
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