Friday, October 20, 2023

OMG 2

Masturbation may seen an odd topic for a Bollywood movie, however "OMG 2" makes it a focal point.  It is very hard not to laugh while it makes its points.  A plea for sex education

It starts with a relatively innocent boy curious about gossip and ideas he has stumbled on.  In his case it leads to a video about masturbation that is carried on the inter net.  The high class school he attends is disgusted  The father, Kanti is flabbergasted, but decides to defend his son.

India produced the Kama Sutra and other writings regarding sex.  They also produced explicit and erotic sculptures.  But in their modern schools sex is a non topic.

A very sharp lawyer Kamini defends against his suing the school for lack of proper education.  She is used to turning the table on her opposition, but Kanti has been well prepared.

For further comic relief the script has provided a spiritual guide.  Kanti, a Hindu is devoted to Lord Shiva.  Originally the writer wanted a side commentator to be Lord Shiva, but thought too offensive and changed to a messenger from Lord Shiva.

A sex worker is called to testify.  She has a son at the expensive school and needs her profession and needs to protect her son.  Nonetheless Kanti is able to expose some hypocrisy.

Explicit drawings of male and female anatomy were displayed catching me off guard.

His son had tried a variety of sex aids, but found they were all misleading.  He didn't know who to believe and thus was (as were many others) vulnerable.

Near the end the wealthy school raised legal obstacles and bribed their opposition to stop trial.  Kanti accepts an out of court settlement that he soon regrets.  Lord Shiva's messenger shows how his acceptance is distorted.  Will justice prevail?  Will sex education be accepted? 

I recognize no court would operate like in the film.  Pity

Laughs come easily while still making some important points.  It takes a good cast and crew to pull it off.  Here are some of them. 

Amit Rai was the writer/director.  He has 4 credits  including "Road to Sangam" (2009).

Mangesh Dhakde was a composer.  He has  64 credits including "Article 15" (2019), "Lipstick Under my Burka" (2015), "Thappad" (2020), "Anek" 2022) and"Bheed" (2023).  He started composing with his father at a very early age and had been expposed to jazz, classical, Brazilian as well as well as Indian classical music.  ,http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/09/article-15.html

Amalendu Chaudhary was the cinematographer.  He has 32 film credits including "Harishchandrachi Factory" (2009), "Stree" (2018) and "Chhichhore" (2019).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/chhichhore-is-for-losers-ie-most-of-us.html

The editor was Suvir Nath.  He has 9 credits including "Road to Sangam (2009).

Pankaj Tripathi played Kanti the father who took to court to defend his son.  Son of a priest he took an interest in theatre.  After getting an education in hotel management he worked a night shift and started acting in theatre plays. He has appeared in 88 films including "Gangs of Wasseypur" (2012), "Newton" (2017),"Stree" (2018), "Super 30" (2020), "Gunjan Saxena:  The Kargil Girl" (2020) and "Mimi" (2021).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/07/mimi-story-about-surogacy.html

Yami Gautam plays Kamini the very sharp lawyer who is very conservative regarding sex.  Yami studied law and later did many commercials and appeared on fashion magazine covers.  She has performed in Kannada, Punjabi, Telegu, Malayalam and Tamil films.  Her film credits include "Vicky Donor" (2012), "Badlapur" (2015), "Kaabil" (2017), "Uri:  The Surgical Strike" (2019) and "Bala" (2019). "A Thursday" (2022) and "Dasvi" (2022). http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/02/the-message-is-spoiler.html

Akshay Kumar in an atyical role plays Lord Shiva's messenger, but he is very versatile and is also co-producer.  Asked if this film was suitable for children, he replied that it was made for kids, but the censor board  restricted it to 18 years and above.  As a box office attraction Akshay could choose more commercial films, but feels obligated to do some films with a social message.  He was once a waiter, in Bangkok took up martial arts, asked to model and jumped into movies where he is a top box office star.   Has Canadian citizenship (actually campaigned with Stephen Harper.)   Akshay is a non smoker and participant in anti smoking campaigns, but is seen heavily smoking in "Good Newwz" (2019) to illustrate the harmful effects regarding fertility.  For the last decade he has been one of the most bookable Bollywood stars.  My attitude towards him has become much more respectful with such movies as "OMG  Oh My God!" (2012) "Special 26" (2013), "Airlift" (2016), "Rustom," (2016). "Toilet, A Love Story" (2017), "Pad Man" (2018), and "Gold" (2018).  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/good-newwz.html

This is very likely to be among my top ten for the year.

Sex is a dirty thing.  Some parents are happy the schools do it, while others are furious.  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/05/sex-in-classroom.html

Available on Netflix subtitled  The audio is in Hindi, but with lots of English which is thought to prove that one is an educated person.

Films I have seen are bolded for the first mention.

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