'OMG' director reflects on similarities with Aamir Khan's 'PK'
What's the story
Umesh Shukla, the director of OMG: Oh My God!, has finally addressed the long-standing comparisons between his film and Rajkumar Hirani's PK.
In an interview with Friday Talkies, he said, "At that time, there were even rumors that Vidhu Vinod Chopra gave me ₹8 crore to not make the film... But that was just gossip."
OMG was released in 2012, while PK came out in 2014.
Film's uniqueness
'PK... might've had similar idea...': Shukla
Shukla defended his film's originality, saying, "I think they might've had a similar idea in mind. If PK had released before my film, people might have said that mine resembled PK."
He added that his movie, OMG, was inspired by a play he wrote, and many people from the PK team were aware of the story.
"Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and writer Abhijat Joshi had all seen my play."
Team's integrity
Shukla praises 'PK' team
Shukla also praised the PK team, saying, "All of them, be it Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi, Chopra, or even Aamir Khan, are too talented and dignified to do something so petty like offering money."
Despite the controversy, due to the similarity in the storyline, PK was a massive box office blockbuster. The movie is now considered a cult classic.
Script similarities
Hirani-Joshi also denied copying 'OMG'
Earlier, Hirani and Joshi had denied copying OMG for their script.
They had revealed that they got the early screenplay in the 2000s but had to make major changes due to its similarity with Christopher Nolan's Hollywood film Inception.
However, when they finally started editing the final version of the film, OMG: Oh My God! had already been released.