OMG: Waging war against God!

There have been very few films in the history of Indian cinema that have critiqued religion. In fact, critiquing religion would be a sacrilege in the Indian religious context. In such a scenario, Oh My God (OMG) is a very bold attempt by director Umesh Shukla. The film not only critiques religion as practised today in India, but demonstrates that the Divine is beyond all religious practices and belief systems.

Director: Umesh Shukla

Film Clip

OMG is a story of a simple middle class man Kanji Lal who wages a war with God, as the insurance company tells him that he cannot be given compensation for the ruin of his shop in the earth quake, as it was the ‘act of God’. And Kanji Lal has to defend his case himself since no lawyer dares fight God. Of course, Kanji Lal has the strength to fight, ironically through the help and grace of the same God whom he does not believe.

The film has been successful for more than one reason. First of all, it treads the untrodden path and boldly tries to expose the hypocrisy and exploitative structures in every religion as practised today. Further, it also makes a bold statement that even if religion (all religions for that matter) may be good in itself, the so called ‘custodians’ of these religions have turned them into a trade. In the bargain, religion today has unfortunately metamorphosed into a mere business with the visible absence of the divine.

The victory of Kanji Lal in the court of law is a victory for the Divine as well, as shown in the film. This is because, God reveals to Kanji Lal, and through him to everyone, that even if humans do not need religion, they need the Divine.

The success of the film is also because of the brilliant role of Kanji Lal played by Paresh Rawal, who embodies true nastic and fighter instincts into his rendering.

 - Melwyn Pinto SJ

The Father: 'killing' a step parent!

One wonders how Iran could produce such wonderful films. The answer perhaps lies in the fact that the limitations posed by the state on film makers have been converted into strengths of the film industry in Iran. Majid Majidi is one such director who can be termed as one of the most creative geniuses of film language.

Director: Majid Majidi

Film clip

His 1996 film The Father (Pedar) is a fine example of this. As usual, his themes are very simple. But the way he puts these themes into the film language, creating visual images in each frame, is just inimitable. The story of The Father is indeed not so much of a father, but of a son Mehrolloah. He has lost his real father in an accident and has difficulties accepting his step father whom his mother has married without his knowledge. This is because Mehrollah has been away working to support the family – his mother and three sisters – after the death of his father. Once he comes to know of the entry of the step father into the family, he wants to kill him as Mehrollah thinks that he is a bad man.

What happens in his pursuit of devising plans to kill his father is indeed surprises you and thus it is best not describe it here, lest the pleasure of a visual experience be taken away from the readers who would like to watch the film. However, the way Majidi unravels the true selves of each of the characters – especially the son and the step father – is very unique. There is symbolism, as usual; but it is not a forced symbolism as in many contemporary Indian off-beat films. Metaphors and symbols just emerge as the story unfolds. That is possible only when a director allows the visuals to flow rather than intrude and impose violence to the natural flow.

A film becomes an eternal piece of art only when every shot in it is in the right place and in the right balance. The Father is one such film!

- Melwyn Pinto SJ