In the proposed sequel to the 2012 film Oh My God, Pankaj Tripathi will play the lead while Akshay kumar will reprise his special appearance as Lord Krishna.
When I asked Pankaj Tripathi about the sequel to the controversial 2012 film, he replied, “It is really too early to say anything about this film. Having said this, I must say an artiste cannot live and function in the near of a backlash. Risk toh aapko leni padegi. If you want to achieve success in your field, you have to leave the safe zone.”
Paresh Rawal played the role of the atheist hero in the original film. Waves of protest had then erupted all over the country claiming the film was guilty of being disrespectful to religion.
However, Paresh Rawal had stood his ground. In an interview to me in 2012 the actor said, “The film is an adaptation of my Gujarati play 'Kanji Virrudh Kanji' and features me as an atheist. There was no fear of backlash at all. We were always very sure of what we were saying and doing on ritualistic religion and the way it controls the life of the common man."
"I had performed the same story in play form in front of a thousand audience for 150 shows in Gujarati and Hindi repeatedly. The play has also been performed in Punjabi and English. We never had any protests," Paresh stressed.
"A live audience could've easily expressed it's displeasure at our ideas in the play. Not once did we face any protest. So, I knew we were on stable ground with the film. There was no one throwing shoes in any of the shows. Audiences from the older and younger generations have appreciated the idea beyond the play," he added.
Paresh wasn’t bothered with the spate of protests against the film.
"Even in Punjab we've been able to release the film almost everywhere. The protestors are seeing and hearing what they want to. And if we are daunted by protests, we'd never be able to extend the reach and impact of the visual medium, be it theatre, television or cinema," said the 62-year-old.
Though the actor believes in God in real-life, he rued that religion was being merchandised in the country."I believe in God. But the costly ways recommended to reach him are wrong. Just who benefits from all the showy rituals, I don't know," he said.
When asked about Akshay Kumar making a special appearance in the movie, Paresh said, "It was really sporting of him to agree to feature in a film where a character actor like me played the lead. He believed in the theme."
Image source: Instagram/pankajtripathi