Child actor Aarush Varma, who plays the role of Vivek, son of Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi) in OMG 2 has expressed his disappointment over the film receiving ‘Adults Only’ certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Directed by Amit Rai, the film also stars Akshay Kumar and Yami Gautam Dhar. The Free Press Journal caught up with the young debutant for an exclusive chat.
The 16-year-old reveals he hasn’t watched his own Bollywood debut film on the big screen. Aarush rues, “There was nothing in the film, I read the script from cover to cover multiple times before and after the shoot and I did not find anything inappropriate or something that should be restricted to an age group. The film was made for teenagers and families to watch together. It came as a huge surprise when we were informed that the film has been given an ‘A’ certificate.”
Aarush has made a petition in support of a U/A certificate for OMG 2. “The certification was really annoying. I wanted to become an actor since the age of three and not being able to watch my hard work on the big screen is sad. I took to social media to see what I can do and I decided to make a petition and send it to everyone. A lot of people I spoke to said that the film should have been given U/A. I don't agree with the certification,” he explains.
When asked why he agreed to be a part of the film, Aarush replies. “I can talk to my parents about anything. They consider sex education an important subject. That’s actually one of the reasons why I did this film. The whole point of making OMG 2 was to make people understand that some topics should be spoken about. When you are not taught the right thing, it’s easy to fall prey to false information. That’s what happened to my character and it almost wrecked his life.”
Sharing his experience of working with Pankaj and Akshay, Aarush gushes, “I enjoyed being on sets and learning from the other actors and director. Pankaj sir has been my idol since I was a kid. I got to learn how he portrays emotions without even saying a word. He’s very humble and grounded. I shot with Akshay sir for only about three weeks and it was a great experience. My parents are from the film industry and they’ve always given me examples of Akshay sir about how he makes meaningful cinema, not just to entertain but also to educate and inform.”
Reacting to the film's success despite A certification, Aarush says, "It's crazy. I expected it to do well because it is based on a great topic and also because it stars such amazing actors. But I never thought the 100 crore mark would be accomplished so soon."
