Released in 2023, ‘OMG 2’ emerged as both a critical and commercial success despite facing prolonged scrutiny from the CBFC over its mix of sex education and religious themes. The film was eventually cleared with an A certificate after several modifications, including presenting Akshay Kumar’s character as a divine messenger instead of Lord Shiva. It went on to reportedly earn more than Rs 221 crore worldwide. The first ‘OMG’ starred Paresh Rawal in the lead role while the sequel starred Pankaj Tripathi. Now, Rawal has claimed that the film was originally based on an idea he developed with director Amit Rai, but underwent major changes after Akshay Kumar came on board. According to the veteran actor, the final version was very different from the story he had envisioned, leading him to walk away from the project. He also alleged that he was not credited for the original story or concept.Paresh recalled approaching Amit Rai, whose work in ‘Road to Sangam’ he admired, with the initial idea. “I had approached Amit Rai, the director of Road to Sangam, and asked him if he was planning another film. I admire him a lot. I told him, ‘I have an idea. Let’s sit and write it.’ I told him I wasn’t a writer but I could contribute ideas and help identify where we were going wrong because I understand screenplay to some extent,” he said.The actor said that the original story revolved around a young boy whose private act is recorded and circulated online, leading to humiliation and social isolation. The narrative followed his father as he fought to restore his son’s dignity and challenge the stigma surrounding the incident.“The story was about a boy who gets caught masturbating, and a video of the incident goes viral, making his life miserable. His father was a tourist guide at the Khajuraho temple. Amit suggested making him a part-time priest at the Mahakal Temple. We developed the script together and even brought sexologist Dr Prakash Kothari on board. We had several meetings because our intention was to make the film educational, entertaining and not vulgar. We were deeply involved in the process,” Paresh said.He added that the script was narrated to Anurag Kashyap before reaching Somen Mishra of Dharma Productions. “Somen outright said it wouldn’t work.”Paresh maintained that the film was never conceived as a sequel to *OMG*. Instead, he envisioned a biker serving as the protagonist’s guide, rather than a divine figure. “Our main idea was to have a biker guiding the father, not God. In the first OMG, God appeared because the case was against God. But this film was about a father’s fight to get justice for his son. There was no need for a divine character. We wanted someone like Kader Khan’s character in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar,” he explained.He revealed that he had approached Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan for the biker’s role but intentionally did not approach Akshay Kumar.“I didn’t approach Akshay because people would have assumed it was OMG 2, whereas that wasn’t the plan,” he said. Paresh further claimed that while the project was still taking shape, discussions began around Akshay joining the film. “I was under the impression that we were still figuring things out. We even had a meeting with Vipul Shah of Optimystix. They also asked about Akshay, and I said if I wanted to make it with him, I would have approached him directly. Akshay and I were partners in OMG. I didn’t need anyone to bridge the gap,” he recalled.According to Paresh, Amit Rai later informed him that Akshay wanted to star in the project. “A few days later, Amit Rai called and told me Akshay wanted to do the film. The issue was that Amit had tentatively written ‘OMG 2’ on the script because the genre was similar,” Paresh said.He also alleged that producer Ashwin Varde was instrumental in taking the project to Akshay. “In one of our meetings, Ashwin Varde was present. That’s when they decided they wanted to do it with Akshay,” he alleged. Paresh said that once the project started evolving in a different direction, he decided to step away rather than contest the changes with Amit Rai.“I told Amit that I didn’t want to go ahead with it. Amit said, ‘But they want to make it.’ They took the script from him. I told Amit I couldn’t fight him; he’s my friend. If that’s what he had chosen, I wished him well. I repeatedly told them not to make it a franchise because it wasn’t one. But they still went ahead,” he said.He added that Akshay later approached him with an offer to act in the film, but he declined because he no longer recognised it as the story he had helped develop. “I spoke to Akshay. He asked me to do the film. I told him, ‘No. This isn’t the film I had envisioned. There is no role of God in this story.’ He tried to convince me, but I had lived with the script from the beginning. I knew exactly what it was supposed to be. That’s why I walked away,” Paresh said.The role of the father eventually went to Pankaj Tripathi, while Akshay Kumar appeared as “Shiv ka Doot.”Paresh said his biggest disappointment was not being acknowledged for his contribution to the original concept. “The saddest part is that I wasn’t even given credit for the story or the concept. My name wasn’t mentioned anywhere,” he claimed.He further asserted that several prominent names in the industry were aware that the idea had originated with him. “Amit, Akshay, Ashwin, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar and Salman Khan… all know it was my idea and my story. Ajay and Salman probably said no because of the subject. They thought it could become controversial. I tried explaining the concept to them,” he said.
