‘Oh My God 2’ (2023) is back in the news as fresh controversy surrounds it. The row began when actor Paresh Rawal claimed on a podcast that he had originally conceived OMG 2’s story but was never properly credited for it. This was swiftly denied by the film’s co-producer Ashwin Varde and director Amit Rai. Ashwin went further, alleging that Rawal had attempted to make a similar film under a different title, claiming the IP rights belonged to him, while also trying to push lead actor Akshay Kumar out of the picture.
Paresh Rawal denies any issues with Akshay Kumar
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Paresh was quick to dismiss any suggestion of trouble with Akshay. “Arre bhaiya, Akshay and I are doing Bhagam Bhag 2 next, which is Ashwin’s film. Bhooth Bangla bhi ki abhi. Meri Akshay se genuinely koi problem nahi hai. Why would I? Akshay had tried to convince me to do OMG 2 as well, I told him it’s not the right subject, it won’t be palatable if we insert Gods in the middle of talking about sex in the film. But they went ahead, the film became successful, I am happy. Baat abhi bhi lekin vahi hai, Gods were not required in that script,” he said.
Paresh Rawal explains story credit dispute with Amit Rai
On how Ashwin and Amit reacted after his comments on story credit, Paresh said, “My relationship with Amit goes long back, he’s a hardworking, research based writer. I told him one day ‘ek idea hai, hum sex par kuchh bana sakte hain, ek chhota baccha hai, masturbate karta hai’… vahaan se baat shuru huyi. I suggested we should go and meet sexologist Prakash Kothari, since it needed scientific facts. I would not say maine likha hai, screenwriters association ke paas aapka hi naam hai (Amit’s) But when you share ideas with each other, usme concept mera tha, I was just asking for that credit, and not paisa. It just came out after many years while I was giving the interview, that I would have been happy if I would have been credited. I have never said Amit has not written it.”
Paresh Rawal responds to claims of pitching ‘OMG 2’ elsewhere
The actor questions why he would seek a writing credit at this stage of his acting career. Responding to Ashwin’s claim that he had pitched ‘OMG 2’ to Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn without disclosing their rejection because the IP belongs to Akshay, Paresh says, “Even our name is credited as producer on it, IP unki hai. If I really wanted to do OMG 2, I would have told Akshay. I didn’t tell him because the moment we came together, people would have assumed it’s OMG 2, which was not the case. The producer insisted, but I said I don’t want to encash on the franchise.”
Paresh Rawal dismisses claims of demanding high fee
Paresh goes on to say that after his refusal, word allegedly spread that he had been dropped from the spiritual sequel over an excessive fee demand. “Agar mujhe paise se mohabbat thi toh kar daalta na? Also, I have not written the film, Amit did. Lekin tidbit toh hamare aate hain na, har actor koi na koi ideas deta hai. Chalo maine Amit ko 50 ideas diye, and he rejected 49. But the one he liked… you can be generous enough na? And rightfully also. I am not holding anything against what Ashwin said. I have lots of love and compassion for Amit. Jisko jo bolna hai bol sakta hai.”
