5 lessons that Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2 taught us: Before the reform in the education system, we need an urgent reform in the CBFC

By Fenil Seta -

August 14, 2023 - 11:00 AM IST

Rarely do we get an entertainer that enlightens viewers without making it seem like a documentary or a boring lecture in school. OMG 2 is one such progressive film that talks about sex education, masturbation, and many other taboo topics in a bold, powerful, and sensitive manner. In this Bollywood Hungama special feature, we bring to you 5 lessons that the Akshay Kumar-Pankaj Tripath-Yami Gautam Dhar starrer taught us.

5 lessons that Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2 taught us: Before the reform in the education system, we need an urgent reform in the CBFC

1. OMG 2makes it very clear that our education system indeed needs an overhaul and that sex education needs to be compulsorily taught in school. Interestingly, sex education has been given to students in schools for more than two decades. This writer was lucky to have attended such a session in his alma mater, way back in 2005. But this doesn’t happen in all schools. Also, the decision to have a sex education class was more to do with school management than an order from the education system. Ideally, the government itself should make it mandatory for all schools.

OMG 2 also breaks the myth that sex education is just about sex. It educates about a lot of aspects like ‘good touch bad touch’. Hence, it makes kids aware of how they might be getting violated, without their knowledge. A memorable scene in this regard is the priest’s (Govind Namdev) granddaughter confiding that she was molested after learning about it through Kanti Mudgal’s (Pankaj Tripathi) speech on ‘good touch bad touch’.

2. Before we reform our education system, we need reforms in the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on an urgent basis. The Examining Committee and Revising Committee both failed to understand the concept, the objective, and even the audience for whom the film was targeted. The film was a must for those under 18. But sadly, they can’t view the film as it’s got an ‘A’ certificate.

OMG 2 was also quite recklessly cut and it proved yet again why the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) was so important. It was abolished in 2021. It used to take a liberal approach and pass films with minimal cuts. Had the Tribunal been around, OMG 2 wouldn’t have faced 27 cuts and it would have definitely been passed with a U/A certificate.

3. OMG 2is an eye-opener for parents as well as their kids. It shows that it’s important that parents, too, try to talk to their children about sex so that the latter don’t end up consuming incorrect information on the internet. A child is never perfect, but it is important for parents to realize that - To Err is Human. It is also important for children to realise that all that parents want is the happiness of their children and they can go to any extent to have it.

4. With OMG 2, Akshay Kumar continues to highlight social issues in the mainstream domain. There have been instances where his nationality has been questioned time and again. Nationality is not the sole definition of a true Indian, only karmdefines it and Akshay scores 10 on 10 on this aspect.

5. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that Akshay Kumar is the new Aamir Khan. Aamir, too, highlighted social issues through ‘Satyamev Jayate’. He also focused on ‘good touch bad touch’ in a memorable episode of his show. Akshay Kumar is doing the same but in films, that too in an entertaining manner. He educated us about the importance of toilets in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha(2017), the importance of sanitary pads in Pad Man(2018) and now he enlightened us about the importance of sex education with OMG 2.

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