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Oh My God is a 2012 Bollywood satirical-comedy-drama movie that satires organized religion directed by Umesh Shukla, produced by Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal.^[1] The movie features Paresh Rawal in the lead role and Akshay Kumar, Lubna Salim, Mithun Chakraborty, Poonam Jhawer, Govind Namdeo, Mahesh Manjrekar, Nidhi Subbaiah, Murli Sharma and Om Puri in supporting roles.^[7] The movie also features Prabhu Deva and Sonakshi Sinha in a special appearance in the song "Go Govinda".^[8] The movie is based on a Gujarati play called Kanji Virudh (vs) Kanji, and with a plot similar to that of the Australian film The Man Who Sued God. Made on a budget of ₹20 crore (US$2.3 million), the film received positive response from critics upon release.^[2][9]Boxofficeindia declared it as a superhit after its first week run.^[10]

Kanji Bhai (Paresh Rawal), a middle-class Hindu atheist runs a shop in Chor Bazaar, Mumbai, which sells Hindu idols and statues along with his friend and neighbour, Mahadev. Married to a very devout wife, Susheela, and a father of two (a boy and a girl), Kanji is a hardcore non-believer and routinely indulges in activities such as tricking customers into paying huge sums of money for his statues under false pretenses, and drinking alcohol while on pilgrimage. He also disrupts a local festival in order to get his son away from the celebration. The Hindu priest presiding over the function, Siddheshwar Maharaj, shouts at him and says that "God will curse you". That night a small earthquake occurs in Mumbai, but there are no damages at all to property or life - except for Kanji Bhai's shop, which has been destroyed completely. Susheela, along with Kanji's neighbours, tells him to accept God so that his misfortunes will end. Kanji refuses, and digs through the shop's rubble to find his Godrej safe, which is still intact. Opening it, it he produces his insurance papers, saying that "no damage has been done".

However, the next day at the insurance office, Kanji and Mahadev are told that the policy does not cover any damage caused by earthquakes, which are classified as an "Act of God". The insurance officer calls security to have them escorted out, and Kanji, losing his temper, slaps the man, saying that it is also an Act Of God since God is supposed to exist inside all living beings, including Kanji. Without insurance coverage, Kanji attempts to sell the land his shop used to sit on, but is told by his real estate agent that there is a rumour going around saying the plot is "cursed", and that no buyers have come forward. Out of options, Kanji decides to file a lawsuit against God.

At the high court, Kanji is unable to get a lawyer, as none of them want the hassle of such a lawsuit. He eventually visits Hanif Qureshi (Om Puri), a poor Muslim lawyer who was attacked and crippled by Islamic extremists for taking Hindu clients. Qureshi agrees to help Kanji, but warns that since he is bed-ridden without the use of his legs, he can only file the case, and Kanji will have to argue it himself. Kanji agrees, and together they send legal notices to the insurance company, as well as Siddheshwar Maharaj, summoning him to court along with his senior, Gopi Maiyya (Poonam Jhawer) and the group's founder, Leeladhar (Mithun Chakraborthy). Although a Guru of the Sect (credited simply as "The Pujari" and played by Arun Bali) asks the three of them to at least arrange a meeting with Kanji and hear out his problem, they refuse, deciding instead to confront him in court.

During the preliminary hearing, Siddheshwar takes the stand, calling Kanji a "fool and sinner" and saying that God would not come to Earth for the likes of him. The insurance company's lawyer (Mahesh Manjrekar) asks the judge to dismiss the case immediately, calling it a waste of the court's time, but Kanji points out that since religious groups claim to represent God on Earth and speak on behalf of Him, they are answerable for his actions, and that the Constitution gives him the right to take legal action against them. The Judge agrees, and the court decides to go forward with the case. When Kanji and Mahadev walk out of the courtroom, they are confronted by a large crowd, which is only held back by Police Officers and court guards. Worried about the safety of his family, Kanji tells Mahadev they should split up to go home and check on his wife and kids. However, Kanji soon ends up in front of a group of fundamentalists, who chase him with sticks and daggers.

Meanwhile, a handsome stranger (Akshay Kumar) appears at the top of one of Mumbai's skyscrapers, wearing a suit and a black overcoat, and twirling a metallic key chain shaped like a small peacock feather on his index finger (similar to the way Krishna is depicted holding the Sudarshan Chakra in Hinduism). The stranger gets on a motorcycle, rides it off the roof, lands on the road without any damage to himself or the bike, and then rescues Kanji Bhai by lifting him up, putting him on the seat behind him and riding away.

The assailants follow on their jeeps, but the stranger manages to evade them after an extended chase, by performing some seemingly impossible stunts on his motorcycle. When Kanjibhai asks his name, he identifies himself as "Krishna Vasudev Yadav, from Gokul". He drops Kanji off on a safe street and gives him directions on how to get back home. When Kanji asks if he can give him a lift the rest of the way, he replies that "My job is just to show you the path, you have to walk it yourself."

Kanji walks home and discovers that his house has been stoned by a mob, and Susheela is leaving with his children. Though he begs her not to go, and his son refuses to leave his father, Susheela, fearing for the children's safety, takes them away to her brother's place. Dejected, Kanji sits home drinking alone, when Yadav shows up at the door with a bag, declaring that he is "God" and that "Muslims know me as Allah, Christians call me Jesus the Messiah, and for you, I am Krishna." However, when Kanji calls Mahadev from next door, Yadav pretends to be normal human being, and produces a document which says that he has purchased the house from Kanji's landlord. Yadav says that he is a consultant, and that he will be staying there for a while. He allows Kanji to continue living there, provided he can use Kanji's household furniture and kitchen for the duration of his stay. Kanji agrees. The next morning Kanji Bhai wakes up to hear the stranger playing the flute, and reporters outside his home asking for interviews. Kanji tells them that he has no interest in giving interviews and sends them away.

The lawsuit hits all the major news networks and causes a public outcry, with most people berating Kanji bhai and calling him "insane". As Kanji and Yadav watch this from home, Yadav tells Kanji that people are getting a false impression of him, and to rectify that, he needs to talk to the media and tell them what he is trying to accomplish. Kanji bhai appears on a program called "OMG", and explains that his intention is not to insult religion or its beliefs, but to question the ways in which people's faith is exploited and commercialied by religious organizations. He also easily puts down several arguments raised by the show's audience. The hostess of the show (Tisca Chopra) herself admits that Kanji bhai has changed the way she views Faith. The interview receives widespread coverage, and public opinion swings rapidly in Kanji's favour. Meanwhile, hundreds of people, whose insurance claims were rejected because the damages were caused by "Acts Of God" show up at Hanif Qureshi's house, asking to join Kanji in his lawsuit. With Muslims and Christians among them, Kanji bhai agrees to plead their cases along with his own, and broadens the lawsuit to include churches and mosques as well.

At the next court session, during which Catholic priests and Muslim Mullahs are also summoned to the courtroom as defendants, they ask Kanji why he is suing them as well. Kanji points out that since muslims and christians are now present among the plaintiffs, he has no idea which religion's God is responsible for which damages, and that they should sort that out among themselves. However, in the session that follows, the insurance company's lawyer points out that Kanji has no way to prove that what happened to him or his fellow plaintiffs were Acts of God, and hence he cannot hold God accountable. Kanjibhai is unable to answer. The Judge declares the court adjourned, then sets the next session for a date one month later, and warns Kanji that he will need irrefutable proof that the disasters were Acts of God, or the case will be dismissed.

Back home, Yadav tells Kanji to read the Bhagavad Gita, and that all holy books, such as the Quran and The Bible contain answers for all of his problems. Kanji Bhai studies all three of the Holy texts intensively over the month, during which time Susheela returns to him with their children. At the next session, Leeladhar takes the stand, and, in response to Kanji's question of whether he belives the Gita to be true, replies that the Holy book is 100% true. Kanji then points out a passage in the Gita in which Krishna says that all of Creation is his own, and it is his will to allow it to grow or to destroy it. He also points out similar passages from The Bible and The Quran, saying that if this is what religion irrefutably believes, then according to their own sacred texts, God is liable for the damages. As he is finishing his statement, Kanji is overcome by a coughing fit and falls over, unconscious. He is rushed to the hospital, where doctors attempt to revive him but are ultimately unsuccessful, leaving him comatose.

A while later, Yadav shows up in Kanji's hospital room, and places a hand on his forehead. Kanji wakes up, and is told by Yadav that the left side of his body is now paralyed, and says that it may be because the heart is situated in the left side of the body, and he had spoken against God from the heart. However, Yadav then touches Kanji with his keychain, immediately reviving him from his invalid state, and as Kanji rises from the bed, Yadav assumes his true form, revealing to Kanji Bhai that he is Lord Krishna. Kanji asks him why Krishna has chosen to help him - an atheist - and Krishna replies that he shows no no favouritism between believers and non believers. As they sit down to talk, Kanji asks God why he created religions, to which Krishna replies that he created man, and man has created religions, and that if one were to attempt to lead them beyond religion, then he would become a religion unto himself.

Kanji bhai shows skepticism at this line of thought, and at that point Krishna reveals that Kanji has been in his coma for one month and shows him what has been happening in that time: the lawsuit's verdict was in his favour and religious organizations were ordered by court to the pay compensation to all the plaintiffs; and, following that, people have started calling Kanji bhai a "swami" and are singing devotional songs in his name; in a press conference, Mahadev has told the media that he saw a divine vision of Kanji bhai; some have even started calling Kanji the eleventh avatar of Vishnu. Meanwhile, Leeladhar, Gopi Maiyya, and Siddheshwar have opened a new temple in Kanji bhai's name, complete with a statue of him, and they have already gotten millions in donations. And today, as per Kanji's living will, he is about to be removed from the ventilator, and thousands of people have gathered to accompany his funeral procession. Kanji is appalled by this turn of events, and Krishna, as Yadav, takes him on his motorcycle to the "Kanji Temple" to stop the procession.

At the temple, Kanji walks up to the dais and yells at the crowd, calling them idiots and fools. He points out that he had done all of his work to stop events exactly like this, and says that "Our world is beautiful, so why would God stay inside the four walls of a temple? If you want to seek God, then seek Him inside yourself, and not inside some idol made of rock." Kanji then beheads his own statue with a tire iron, and tells the crowd to tear down the temple. As the mob grows unruly, they blame the three pundits for what happened, and attempt to assault them. But Kanji intervenes, and says that their true punishment should be to walk away in shame. As Leeladhar leaves, he stops by Kanji and tells him that faith is like an addiction, and will not let go of people. He gestures toward the crowd and says, "These are not God-loving people, they are God-fearing people," and walks away calmly, implying that he believes they will all return to faith someday.

Kanji approaches Yadav (who has been watching the events without intervening) to thank him for his help, but is distracted for a second by the crowd, and when he looks back, both Yadav and the motorcycle have disappeared. As he meets his family and they embrace him in reunion, Kanji notices that Yadav's key chain has been left behind, and is lying on the ground. He picks it up and is about to secure it inside his jacket when he hears Krishna's voice, telling him not to stop being an atheist and that he should get rid of the key chain. Kanji Bhai smiles to himself, then throws it away in the sky.

• Paresh Rawal as Kanjibhai Lalji Mehta
• Akshay Kumar as Lord Krishna
• Lubna Salim as Susheela (Kanji's wife)
• Mithun Chakraborty as Leeladhar
• Poonam Jhawer as Gopi Maiyya
• Govind Namdeo as Siddeshwar Maharaj
• Mahesh Manjrekar as The Lawyer
• Nidhi Subbaiah as Shweta Tiwari
• Murli Sharma as Laxman Mishra
• Om Puri as Hanif Qureshi
• Tisca Chopra as The Anchor
• Arun Bali as The Pujari
• Nikhil Ratnaparkhi as Mahadev
• Jaineeraj Rajpurohit as Dinesh Gandhi
• Apoorva Arora as Jigna
• Azaan Rustam Shah as Chintu
• Honey Chhaya as Jagdishbhai
• Prabhu Deva in a special appearance in the song "Go Govinda"
• Sonakshi Sinha in a special appearance in the song "Go Govinda"
• Salman Khan as the narrator in a teaser trailer

The soundtrack of Oh My God is composed by Himesh Reshammiya, Sachin-Jigar and Meet Bros Anjaan, whilst the lyrics have been penned by Shabbir Ahmed, Kumaar, Swanand Kirkire and Subrat Sinha. The album features Himesh Reshammiya, Shreya Ghoshal, Mika Singh, Kailash Kher, Benny Dayal, Ash King, Suraj Jagan, Keerthi Sagathia, Zubeen Garg, Meet Bros Anjaan, Arya Acharya, Mohd Irfan, Aman Trikha and Parash Nath behind the mic.

Producer Akshay Kumar announced the film in 2012. When the promos of the movie were released at first, people heard actor Salman Khan's voice and assumed that he was playing a role in the movie or maybe he was the narrator. Later, the director Umesh Shukla went on to clarify that Salman's voice was only being used in the promos of the movie. The director was quoted telling IANS, "He (Salman) will not be narrating in the film. He has that notorious voice. My film is a light-hearted comedy and we need someone who can do justice to the visuals." ^[11]

Later, it was confirmed that Kumar's close friend Paresh Rawal who appeared in the original play Kishen vs Kanhaiya was playing the lead role with Akshay himself playing the role of Krishna in the movie.^[1] Shahrukh Khan was also expected to play a supporting role in the film, but later opted out of the project, and the role was taken over by Mithun Chakraborty. The filming was reported to have begun in January 2012. Also, director Prabhu Deva, who earlier directed Kumar's Rowdy Rathore, has been roped in to appear in a item-number along with Sonakshi Sinha.^[12] According to reports, producer Akshay Kumar will be doing a supporting role in the film and will be seen riding a specially designed bike for the movie theme, worth Rs.1 million.^[13]

Oh My God released worldwide on 28th September, 2012.^[1] Prior to its theatrical release, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certified the film with a U certificate.

Professional reviews
Review scores
Source	Rating
DNA India
The Times of India
Rediff
Bollywood Hungama
Daily Bhaskar
NDTV
Zee News
The Statesman
Deccan Chronicle
CNN-IBN
Hindustan Times
Tehelka
The Indian Express
Outlook
Yahoo

Oh My God received generally positive reviews from critics.^[14] Taran Adarsh of Bollywoodhungama gave the film 3.5 out of 5 star and said "On the whole, OMG - OH MY GOD! is a thought-provoking adaptation of a massively successful play. A movie tackling a sensitive and an untouched subject matter, it will find its share of advocates and adversaries, but the social message the movie conveys comes across loud and clear and that's one of the prime reasons why OMG becomes a deserving watch".^[15] Sukanya Verma of Rediff rated it 4 out of 5 reviewing "A brave and absorbing blend of satire, fable and fantasy that brings our attention to the misuse and commercialisation of religion".^[16]Faisal Saif of Independent Bollywood rated it 4 out of 5 and said "Strongly Recommended. Fearless concept with some Fearless performances".^[17]

The film had a low opening but showed good growth on its 2nd and 3rd day and collected ₹16.50 crore (US$1.9 million) nett in its opening weekend.^[18]Despite slow start, the film earned a phenomenal figure of ₹35.74 crore (US$4.1 million) nett in its first week.^[5] Movie has generated a well deserved ₹49 crore (US$5.7 million) nett in 10 Days as to records of Boxofficeindia and proved that film is a Super Hit at BoxOffice. ^[19]

OMG! Oh My God has grossed $1.50 million in 10 days in overseas which is fair as the business is without UAE.^[20]

This movie has generated lot of controversy over the depictions of prominent Hindu gods and Indian spiritual traditions. Jalandhar's State Mahila Congress vice president Nimisha Mehta has lodged a complaint against the lead actors, Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar who are also the producers of the film, for hurting Hindu's religious sentiments and also sent a notice to them.^[21] The notice asked them to delete objectionable scenes and dialogues.^[21] Akshay Kumar has been given police protection, after this notice.^[22]. The movie was banned in UAE.^[23]