Paresh Rawal claims OMG 2 was his idea: ‘Akshay Kumar took the script, didn’t give me credit’

6 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 16, 2026 04:51 PM IST

Paresh Rawal on why he didn't star in OMG 2. (Photo: IMDb)

When OMG 2 was gearing up for release in 2023, it ran into trouble with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over its blend of sex education and religious themes. After multiple delays, the film was eventually cleared with an A certificate, even though the makers had hoped for a U/A rating as they intended to target adolescents. Several modifications were also made, including changing Akshay Kumar’s character from Lord Shiva to ‘Shiv ka Doot’.

However, according to Paresh Rawal, much of the controversy could have been avoided had the makers stuck to his original story, which, he claims, centred on the relationship between a father and son and did not involve any divine intervention.

Speaking to Vickey Lalwani, the veteran actor claimed he had conceived the original story for what later became OMG 2 and shared the idea with director Amit Rai, with whom he developed the screenplay. According to him, the project took a different turn after Akshay Kumar came on board.

‘The story was never meant to have God’

Recalling how the project began, Paresh said, “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 continued, “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.”

Rawal said the script was later narrated to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and subsequently to Somen Mishra from Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. “Somen outright said it wouldn’t work,” he recalled.

‘We didn’t need God in the story’

Rawal further revealed that the original concept was vastly different from the final film. “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.”

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According to Rawal, he approached Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan for the role of the biker. “I didn’t approach Akshay because people would have assumed it was OMG 2, whereas that wasn’t the plan.”

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‘They took the script from Amit’

Paresh alleged that the project changed course after Akshay Kumar expressed interest in it. “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 added, “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.”

Rawal believes the script reached Akshay through producer Ashwin Varde. “In one of our meetings, Ashwin Varde was present. That’s when they decided they wanted to do it with Akshay.”

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He continued, “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.”

Why Paresh Rawal walked out

The veteran actor said Akshay Kumar later personally asked him to be a part of the film. “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.”

The role eventually went to Pankaj Tripathi. Rawal also claimed he did not receive credit for the story. “The saddest part is that I wasn’t even given credit for the story or the concept. My name wasn’t mentioned anywhere.” He further claimed that everyone he had narrated the script to was aware that the idea 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.”

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Released in 2023, OMG 2, reportedly made on a budget of around Rs 50 crore, went on to earn more than Rs 221 crore worldwide despite its certification hurdles.