OMG 2 director Amit Rai has dismissed Paresh Rawal's claims of he conceived the film's concept but got no credit.
Rai claimed that Rawal was credited and was also paid for it.
He is currently awaiting the release of his film Ohh My Dog on July 31.
Veteran actor Paresh Rawal claimed that he developed the original story and concept for the 2023 hit film OMG 2 but was completely excluded from the credits. The film starred Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi in lead roles.
Outlook reached out to director Amit Rai to share his views on Rawal's claims. Rai refuted the allegations and is surprised at Rawal's allegations after so many years of the film's release. He also claimed that the actor was given due credit as the producer in OMG 2.
Amit Rai responds to Paresh Rawal allegations
"OMG 2 ki kahaani janmi thi meri buddhi se. Uska srijan maine kiya, kahaani ja janak hi main hi hoon, likh ke change karke, bana ke, direct karke, censor se jagda karke movie release kiya. It has been three years since the film was released. I don't know why he is making such claims now," Rai said.
On Paresh claiming he was not given credit for the film, Rai said, "If you open Netflix, you will see the film; there is a credit in his name, his wife, Swaroop Paresh Rawal, and his business partner, Hemal Thakkar. So, I don't think that he hasn't been credited."
Rai also revealed that Rawal was also paid for the film. The filmmaker is currently awaiting the trailer release for his upcoming film Ohh My Dog, and he is unable to understand Rawal's statement just 10 days ahead of the film's release.
Despite all this, Rai has immense respect for Rawal as both have worked together in the 2009 film Road to Sangam.
During his conversation with Vickey Lalwani, the Hera Pheri also said that he approached Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan to play the biker in OMG 2 and he didn't want Kumar to be part of the film in the initial casting phase.
"If it's about the credit, he should have opened up about it at that time, right? Why did he wait for three years? If he had approached those actors, why did they refuse to work with that script? Whatever happened in the chain of incidents Ashwin Varde (producer of OMG 2) has mentioned in his statement. We have been on this journey together. There is no need to cross-check it as well. If we had any malign intention, his (Rawal) name wouldn't have gone in the credits," Rai said.
"I don't understand why he's claiming only for this one script. I have two questions: Is there any other such film where he has been credited as a concept or a script writer, and why this film?"
When asked if he feels Rawal has any hidden agenda behind his claim, the director said, "I'm completely unaware of that."
Rai's Ohh My Dog is set to hit the screens on July 31, 2026.
