MovieChat Forums > OMG: Oh My God! (2017) Discussion > No objections to this movie from Hindus?

No objections to this movie from Hindus?


I am an American who lives outside Washington DC. I love Bollywood movies, and we have a cinema nearby that shows first-run Hindi films. So I saw "OMG" Oct. 2. As another reviewer pointed out, there was a similar movie, The Man Who Sued God, made in Australia in 2001, but I haven't seen it. Here is my question: I read all the reviews on imdb, I think all of them by Indians, and everyone loves this movie. But it certainly insults Hinduism. In light of the recent problems (riots, the deaths, etc.) with the "Innocence of Muslims" video on Youtube, doesn't this invite the same problems in India? I see it is based on a Gujerati play, but Gujerat was the state where only a few years ago thousands died in Hindu-Muslim rioting. That doesn't show a great deal of tolerance. Adding a token Imam for the Muslims and priest for the Christians doesn't change the focus of the movie, which is Hinduism. Any English-speaking movie I can think of ("Elmer Gantry," etc.) only attacks individuals who pervert religion, or specific issues like child abuse, not the basis of religion itself. "OMG" seems to attack Hinduism itself, but no one seems upset. Why??? I should add that I have read a lot about India, and the exact same issues were dealt with in a book by a French missionary, "Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies," by JA Dubois in the early 19th c., and of course the British brought up the exact same issues throughout the 19th and early 20th c. It just seems to me that this movie shows a very secular outlook which I find surprising. A similar movie made in the US would be the object of mass protests. Can anyone explain this for me?

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I watched the movie and I loved it, as "most" of the Hindus did. I am also certain that it will raise some concerns in some so called Hindu's mind, but IMHO, those people won't have the understanding it requires to comprehend the message delivered.
First of all, let me tell you that your first apprehension which made you say "But it certainly insults Hinduism" is absolutely WRONG. Wait, before you go in defence mode, let me prove it.
I can understand that you are not a Hindu so I'll try to explain why you thought that the movie portrays insult to Hinduism.
Hinduism is NOT A RELIGION BY DEFINITION. Its a lifestyle. Its a way of living. Its called "Sanatam Dharam".(Please Google it for more info) We follow certain codes and conducts. We DO NOT endorse our God(s) to be superior. I acknowledge that there are some D-Bags who think like that but according to the thousands year old scriptures, they have lost the reason to be called a Hindu. A Hindu would never force or even try to convince anyone that he/she is better than anyone else. We don't do that and we respect in every aspect.
The movie talks about some self proclaimed DemiGods who believes they are the sole proprietors of the intellectual property of God's name and any related business they may bear in future. These people are present in Today's India. The movie has talked about the business they run under Gods name which is NOT taught in Hinduism or in any other religion for that matter. Infact in our scriptures, or even in Quran and Bible, it has been taught to respect Humanity first and one who doesn't, is not considered a follower of religion.

I see that you have already expressed your concern that why we are not making a big deal out of it. Before answering that, can I just say that you have NO PRIOR knowledge of Hinduism and you MUST read about it, if you want to. Or you may you have, but haven't understood it properly. Or may be you didn't get the movie. Could be anything, who am I to say. Right ??

But your ignorance doesn't make me hate you or even think of any bad of you. I just wanted you to try and understand our culture first. - See, how I reacted to your statements, This is what Hinduism teaches me.

Still I would fold my hands in respect.

As someone has rightly said, we are the most resilient group of people on this planet. But I want to add that, we are resilient by choice, not by force.

Vinay

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if hinduism isnt a religion, why are there Gods in it? or are they perhaps not seen as Gods?

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I've read that there are atheist and theistic sides of Hinduism. You can be a Hindu and be an atheist at the same time or you can be a theistic Hindu.

"Gore isn't scary, sex isn't love, spoofing isn't comedy, and remakes are no fun."

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I think Hindu is a very loose religion. It is more 'a way of life'. Unlike other stricter religions like the Judeo-Abrahamic ones (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), there is no book that tells you when to go to temple, how to live your life, what 10 commandments to live by etc.

It is more like a tourist companion guide.

The essential part of Hinduism is the Dharma-Karma IMO. i.e. your results are determined by your action. "As you sow, so shall you reap".

That is pretty much it.

Now, if you combine this message with the other books aka the Vedas, then it has more religious structure defining when and how to pray, which direction to face while praying, which hours to avoid for prayer etc.
Personally, I don't get the hoopla around the Vedas - they are just the books written by Aryans who came to India and brought with them their encyclopaedia aka the Vedas.
No one prays to library books. This is what the Vedas are - their textbooks as it existed then.

Anyways, that is my take.

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Absolutely right! In fact Hinduism has numerous schools of philosophy (apart from just atheism and theism) and they all co exist under the same 'religion'.

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The concept of religion is understood very narrowly since majority of human population follow monotheistic religions (One god/One prophet). Hence it becomes difficult to comprehend an ancient 'religion' like Hinduism. It is like trying to fit a circle in a square.

Think of Hinduism as a civilization/lifestyle/way of life (as correctly pointed by someone above). Equate it to ancient civilizations like the Greek, Roman, Norse or Egyptian civilizations. They had numerous gods (God of thunder, god of war, god of underworld, etc) just like Hindus have. Today you don't find people worshipping Zeus or Thor because those civilizations were invaded by monotheistic religions. Hindus survived the invasion. So, hindus are like ancient Romans/Greeks/ Egyptians (to put it in simple words).

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Firstly I would like to thank you for your questions and these are valid questions and you have rightly pointed out the negativity which exists with religion and religious sentiments. I would also like to state that Hinduism is a way of life a way of thinking and a very logical religion. It is a very "liberal religion" (sounds funny when you write it), but it is. Certain people who use religion for their benefit are the one's responsible for all the blood shed, be it any religion. If you watch the movie again, you will find that the movie does not mock or target Hinduism, it shows how we humans have, in the name of religion, diverted the reality which is that god does not exist in idols, but god is everywhere, you will be closer to god if you help others, so as Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal) says in court that if we give the milk to a hungry man instead of donating it in the temple we might get closer to god. This is the real message of Hinduism, to help others, to work and do your deed (Karma) and do not worry about the results, you will get what you deserve etc.. If you ever get a chance to read the Bhagvat Gita or the Vedas you will realise that this is the real Hindu religion and what it teaches. This movie has given me a chance to rethink my own ways and the first thing I am going to do is to start reading the Bhagvat Gita!

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There have been some protests against this movie in India. I'm a Hindu and I saw this movie recently, but i found nothing offensive. Instead it shows the way religion was originally meant to be. Religion in India is, strictly speaking, a business nowadays. Many Hindu saints are being convicted of misusing the donations and charities that they get, and also people's faith. This movie shows true religion and that idol worship is not the only and best form of worship. If you ever visit India, do visit one of the Shiv Temples. This movie showed milk being wasted on idols when that milk could have been helpful to the beggars who hadn't eaten anything for a long time. Unfortunately, this is true. Religion was not supposed to be like this. This movie, instead of facing protests, should be shown to everyone!

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I am Hindu and just recently watched the movie. There was nothing offensive about the film whatsoever. In fact since I am from the modern generation, I agree with a lot of what the movie talked about. Especially the blind faith thing. Way too many people do that nowadays. Perhaps one of the better movies to come from Bollywood in a while.

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Let me start by saying that I am a Hindu. Also, if you won't mind my saying, you should see the movie again.

The movie is all about an atheist. He doesn't believe in God and has no regrets about it. He wages a war against the priests just to get his insurance money. But in the process he discovers something much bigger than his initial objective.

Lord Krishna is one of the most famous Hindu deity. Thought he is all powerful and can end any battle in an instant, he rarely intervenes and believes in guiding so that humans can find their own way. He does the same thing in the movie. He guides KanjiBhai so that he can find his own way. He also says the people should not fear God. Rather they should consider him as their friend.

The movie is not against Hinduism. Its against the malpractices and how priests have made it their business. I couldn't find anything offensive in the movie.

Clearly one of the best movies of 2012; conveying a social message in a very effective manner. Hindus are particularly loving this movie. This is quite evident from the box office collections even though it does not have any superstars in the lead roles.

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Couldn't agree more, alwayplanb. What the thread starter is not getting is that Hinduism does not have any centrally enforced ideology or any kind of highest-authority figure such as the Pope or the Dalai Lama. It has multiple schools of thoughts, and it openly ALLOWS a person to be an atheist (For details go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism_in_Hinduism). This is demonstrated in the movie itself at the end, where Krishna tells Kanji to throw away the keychain and not change his life.

I am a Hindu atheist, and loved this movie. I have always hated the way our religion is perceived (and, let's face it, largely practiced) as theistic, and there has never been any shortage of people who take advantage of that. Hopefully this film has opened a few eyes at least. What I loved most about it is the sheer number of people that are LOVING this film - like the original poster said, with any other religion you'd be looking at riots all over the place. Hell, the censor board geniuses in UAE banned it completely and Hinduism isn't even the dominant religion there.

But, in the theater, I could tell from the way the audience was reacting to the movie (mostly with roaring applause) that they were mostly atheists and/or religious liberals, and - hey, what do you know, there's more of us than I ever imagined! THAT is what I'm most thankful for - OMG has sent a clear sign to every atheist in India - you are not alone. India's sensible population is on the rise. There's hope yet.

Even those who DO believe in God have nothing to be offended about - Kanji's message is very clearly stated - "Our world is beautiful, so why would God stay inside the four walls of a temple? If you wish to seek God, then find him within yourself, and not in idols and temples."

That's not offensive, it's just SENSIBLE. The idiots who are claiming to be offended by it are just that - idiots who are offended by SENSE.

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Pretty clear that you didn't get the point of the movie. Hinduism wasn't the defendant or focus in the movie. It was about the people who claim to be the representatives of God (or every religion's concepts of God, anyway), when they are really just running offices and branches of some sort of multinational company.

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LEt me anwcer the first question; yes, there are objections to this movie from hindus. Here is a link which proves it; http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EsjQnSwUIK4

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Interesting, but strange--the youtube video is of Bhakti Vikas Swami, an Englishman (who, curiously, has an American accent!) who apparently became a Hindu at age 19 and, from the little I read about him, is uneducated (except, you could argue, in Hinduism). These are the same guys we used to see begging in airports in the 1970s. Hard to take them seriously! Sorry. Also, I forget how many times he used the words "stupid" and "idiot" to describe people who watch Bollywood/TV/movies in general. In fact, what I like about Bollywood movies is that there is almost always a moral or lesson, and they deal with major issues (as did OMG). He should watch some! Thanks for the link.

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Maybe there were few protests by few stupid individuals. But the point is, in a country with 0.9 billion Hindus, this movie was declared a superhit. Imagine a similar movie that criticizes the majority religion, being released in an Islamic or Christian country. Would you have seen people embracing it? Hell! One cartoon by a Danish cartoonist took the whole world by storm. The world has a lot to learn from Hinduism.

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Hindus loved this movie. And no - Hindus won't turn to violence but hopefully will look at their actions. Loved this movie!

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