'OMG!': Why Akshay Kumar was unsure about playing god
OMG - Oh My God! (2012) is considered a landmark film of Hindi cinema. It starred Akshay Kumar as Lord Krishna, who arrives on Earth to guide the protagonist, Kanji Lalji Mehta, played by Paresh Rawal. The Umesh Shukla directorial was also lauded for its piercing satire about shams across religions. Interestingly, recently, Shukla has revealed that Kumar wasn't too sure about the role.
Kumar's reason has 'God Tussi Great Ho' connection
Shukla told Hindustan Times that Kumar was hesitant to play Lord Krishna since Amitabh Bachchan played God in God Tussi Great Ho, an unsuccessful film. Shukla said, "He had that thing. 'This is a god... How will I play God's character when Bachchan sir could not?" However, Kumar came around after watching Shukla's play Kanji Virudh Kanji—the source material for Oh My God!
Before 'OMG!' Shukla worked with Kumar as writer
Speaking about his longstanding collaboration with Kumar, he said, "I...wrote a lot of films (featuring Kumar) as an assistant to Neeraj Vora." "I wrote Hera Pheri, Aawara Pagal Deewana, Deewane Hue Pagal, and Ajnabee. So I was involved in a lot of films with him...and I met him regularly. I knew him [before OMG!]." He also credited Rawal for helping him cast Kumar.
On the success of 'OMG 2'
Shukla also thrashed rumors that he was working on an idea for OMG 2. He said, "No...I was working on some other script. That's why it didn't materialize. And [OMG 2] is also very good... And [OMG 2 director Amit Rai] is a very dear friend. He made a very good film... He came up with a really good script. And it worked."
Shukla's next: Comedy entertainer 'Aankh Micholi'
Shukla's upcoming film Aankh Micholi will release on November 3. It stars Mrunal Thakur, Vijay Raaz, Paresh Rawal, Sharman Joshi, Divya Dutta, Abhimanyu Dassani, and Abhishek Banerjee. It is based on an incident that transpired in Shukla's sister's life and was earlier slated for an October 27 release. Now, it'll clash with UT69, Three of Us, Hukus Bukus, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
