OMG 2 Movie Review: Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi's film has its heart in the right place minus a few misses

The Amit Rai directorial OMG 2 has its heart exactly in the right place. It aims at giving out the message of the importance of sex education in schools and other educational institutions under the garb of a tongue-in-cheek and almost paradoxical courtroom drama. The movie does get irrational sometimes on varied aspects but the strong subject coupled with realistic performances finds the Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi starrer an entertaining and informative watch.

OMG 2’s plot revolves around Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi) who is a strong devotee of Lord Shiva and owns a small shop near the Mahakal temple in his city. However, calamity hits when his son Vivek (Aarush Varma) is found masturbating in his school washroom in a viral video made to publicly shame him by the school bullies. His son is expelled from school and Kanti along with his family is ridiculed by everyone in the vicinity. Just when he decides to flee the city amidst the social stigma and his son’s deteriorating mental health, enters a messenger of the Lord himself (Akshay Kumar). He guides Kanti in the right direction but it is the latter who gains insight from the same and takes the rein on his own hands. Kanti decides to file a case of defamation against his son’s school demanding an apology from them and his son’s readmission emphasizing that his son’s plight is due to the ignorance and lack of profound education from his so-called prestigious school. However, he faces a strong obstacle from no-nonsense and powerful lawyer Kamini Maheshwari (Yami Gautam).

Director Amit Rai has masterfully managed to get the sensitive message across with the courtroom drama. The mention of how important the study of reproductive organs and Kamasutra have been in our country from many years ago and yet currently there is still a taboo on the inclusion of sex education in schools becomes an eye-opener. The film also aims to normalize parents and teachers discussing and educating their children on correct sexual behavior. Good touch, bad touch, taboos around the size of the reproductive organs, prostitution, breastfeeding, giving shaming nicknames to reproductive organs as if a stigma and cheap and fraudulent medicines which are sold in the name of increasing masculinity and virility are some of the strong messages which are incorporated in the script brilliantly with the dialogues and sequences penned by Amit Rai.

However, the movie falters when it comes to some over-the-top courtroom sequences. In an attempt to create a parody-like situation and comical sequences, the courtroom scenes become illogical and unreasonable. The fact that we find Kanti so easily fighting the case for his son despite not being from the law background to the judge (Pavan Malhotra) taking a selfie of his court pleased with the turn-out looks bizarre from the practical point of view. There is also a tint of stereotype when it comes to highlighting the antagonists but fortunately for OMG 2, it does not threaten to get preachy.

Talking about the performances, Pankaj Tripathi is the star of this ship. A yet another stellar performance by the actor with the right amount of intensity, sensitivity, and vulnerability. There is never a dull moment with Kanti and you cheer for him out loud in his battle, such was the impact Tripathi made with his performance. Akshay Kumar tries to do justice with his brief cameo but the impact which the actor had in the first part as Shree Krishna is missing with this role even though he does his best with the ensemble too. Yami Gautam puts her best foot forward and succeeds too but the actress fails to look as menacing as her character was portrayed. Watch out for Aarush Varma who plays Kanti’s son. As the helpless and broken Vivek, the boy is fantastic and gives a strong impact with his act. The other supporting star cast like Pavan Malhotra, Govind Namdev, Arun Govil, Brijendra Kala, Simran Sharma, and others also do full justice to their roles.

The songs are forgettable as compared to the strong soundtracks of the first film barring the energetic ‘Har Har Mahadev.’ The cinematography by Amalendu Chaudhury masterfully captures the sequences near the temple and inside the courtroom. OMG 2 definitely has some misses but its subject is one which needs to be told out loud and clear. Plus, it’s again a treat for all the Pankaj Tripathi fans out there.