In a recent interview, Akshay Kumar talked about his recent release, OMG 2, and how he was disheartened when the film he made for children was given an ‘adult only’ certificate by the censor board after making 27 cuts.
The Hindi-language film is a comedy-drama on the subject of sex education in India. Written and directed by Amit Rai, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam Dhar.
OMG 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
OMG 2 and its troubles with the censor board
OMG 2 revolves around a father-son story, which was intended for teenagers. The film talks about subjects like masturbation and sex education. In his converstaion with INA, Akshay questioned if anyone in Hollywood or Bollywood has “dared” to make a film on these subjects before him.
The film was given an adult film certificate by the censor board after asking for 27 cuts. Akshay stated that he had “no idea about the rules” and that “there is nothing adult” in the film.
The film is now streaming on Netflix with the same cuts as the one screened in theatres. The actor shared that although he had the option of releasing an uncensored version of the film on the platform, he wanted to “respect the censor board”.
The actor also revealed that the film’s story is based on a real-life incident where a student was expelled from his school after being “caught”.
OMG 2 box office performance
Despite all the controversies preceding the film and its troubles with the censor board; OMG 2 has been the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2023, collecting ₹220.49 crore worldwide.
Why does Akshay choose ‘taboo subjects’?
The actor shared that he feels that certain taboo subjects and practices have become a ‘habit’ and need to be talked about. “To be honest, if you ask me from here, I truly enjoy doing films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) and Padman (2018)”, the actor said, pointing towards his heart.
The actor said that he is not able to make the same amount of money with movies on these subjects as he does with commercial films like Sooryavanshi (2021) and Rowdy Rathor (2012). Even so, he prefers making films on ‘taboo subjects’ and lesser-known biopics as for him “paison ki baat nahin hai” (it is not about the money).
The actor came to Bollywood as a stuntman and shared that in the beginning he saw appearing in films only as a means of making money. Eventually, however, his passion for the space ignited.
He now sees movies like Rustom (2016) and Airlift (2016) as his “way of giving back to society”. He shared that he had always wanted to appear in films of these subjects but he did not always have the money to make them. Now that he does, he produces films on subjects he feels passionately about.
What Akshay’s kids think about his films
Akshay shared that although his daughter is too young to share her opinions, his son, Aarav Kumar, is very honest about how he feels about his father’s films. When he likes Akshay’s films, he says, “good dad, I’m proud of you”, the actor shared with a smile.
Akshay looks back on life before he was a film star
From skipping breakfast as a child in order to save money for movie tickets, to producing Bollywood films – Akshay Kumar sure has come a long way.
Reflecting on his days before he became a film star, the actor shared that his family of 24 individuals shared a single room “but I swear to God, there wasn’t a single day when we did not laugh and play”, the actor shared.
He stated that as a child, he had wanted to be a martial arts instructor and never thought he would be in the films. He did enjoy watching films with his family, however, and shared how they would skip having breakfast every Saturday so that they saved enough money for movie tickets and for buying a samosa and a mango stick ice-cream.
