Explained: The Controversy Over Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2

The fate of Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2, scheduled to release on August 11, appears to be under a cloud. Earlier this month, reports suggested that the film would be subject to extra scrutiny from the Censor Board to prevent backlash of the sort directed at Adipurush. Now, it seems that the film might be unable to make its scheduled date of release. As of Sunday, the trailer of OMG 2 received a U/A certification but the film itself has not been certified yet, sources told NDTV. OMG 2 stars Akshay Kumar in the role of Lord Shiva and this is reportedly one of the sticking points. Among the 35 cuts that Censor Board has demanded is that Akshay’s character be changed to a messenger of Lord Shiva rather than the deity himself, according to sources.

While the producers of OMG 2 are unwilling to cut scenes and will opt to modify them instead, it raises the question of whether they will receive the U/A certification they are aiming for even after making the edits asked for. The trailer has been certified U/A but somewhat pointlessly as there is no big release before August 11 for it to be attached to. The trailer needs no certification to be released on digital platforms and so far, has not been – a teaser dropped earlier this month.

Soon after the teaser released, it was reported that the Censor Board had referred OMG 2 to its Revision Committee. Adipurush, a version of the Ramayan starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, ended up revising some dialogues after widespread criticism and reports speculated that the Censor Board would be err on the side of caution with OMG 2, a satire which places God front and centre as a character.

OMG 2 co-stars Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam and is a spiritual sequel to OMG in which Akshay Kumar played Lord Krishna. If it releases on August 11 as planned, it will clash with Gadar 2, starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel.