After veteran actor Paresh Rawal recently claimed that he had pitched the original idea for ‘OMG 2’ but was never credited for it, director Amit Rai has strongly denied the allegation. Paresh had said that he had shared the film’s concept with Amit years ago and was disappointed that his contribution was not acknowledged when the film was eventually made.Responding to the claims, Amit questioned the basis of Paresh’s allegations and maintained that the film was entirely his creation. “Wo kis tathya ke adhaar pe ye keh rahe hai? First he needs to answer this. He is merely making a claim. Kehne ko to wo kuch bhi keh sakte hai. Wo bade actor hai, I cannot go up to an actor of his stature and ask why is he saying this,” Rai said in an interview with Hindustan Times. Drawing a comparison between creating a film and raising a child, Amit asserted that every stage of ‘OMG 2’ belonged to him.“Jaha tak mujhe yaad hai ki, us film ka janak bhi main hi hun, uska karta bhi main hi hun, school bhejne wala bhi main hi hun aur college bhejne wala bhi main hi hun. To proof of that is the certificate from screenwriter association and the stamp that is put by the person who sees the script. It has my name.”While stressing that he has no intention of disrespecting a senior actor like Paresh Rawal, Amit said the issue should ideally be addressed between the actor, the film’s producers and Akshay Kumar. “Ye unki vyaktigat rai ho sakti aur uska jawaab mujhe lagta hai ki unke aur production company ke beech mein, unke aur Akshay sir ke beech mein hoga. Maine film likhi hai aur bana di hai. Bohot jaldi jaag gaye hai wo.”Paresh had earlier opened up about the matter during an interview with Vicky Lalwani, where he claimed that the idea for the film originated during his discussions with Amit Rai. According to the actor, he had approached the filmmaker after admiring his work in ‘Road to Sangam’ and wanted to collaborate on a fresh story.“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. 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.”Paresh further revealed that he had considered Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan for the biker’s role but deliberately stayed away from approaching Akshay Kumar because he did not want the project to be seen as a sequel to ‘OMG’. He claimed that Amit later informed him Akshay was interested in backing the project under the tentative title ‘OMG 2’.“I told Amit that I didn’t want to go ahead with it. I repeatedly told them not to make it a franchise because it wasn’t one. But they still went ahead. 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. That’s why I walked away.”Expressing his biggest disappointment, Paresh alleged that he received no acknowledgment for his contribution.“The saddest part is that I wasn’t even given credit for the story or the concept. My name wasn’t mentioned anywhere.”
