‘Thank God’, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh, is finally in theatres. In this social comedy, Ajay plays the role of Lord Chitragupt, Hindu deity assigned the task of keeping records of a person's good and evil acts on Earth.
Over the years, cinema has managed to blur the lines between reality and fiction. There have been several actors in Indian cinema as well as in Hollywood who have been given the chance to play the character of God in movies.
Take a look at some of films where God appeared as a character and actors who played the role.
Akshay Kumar in 'Oh My God' (2012)
Akshay portrayed the role of Lord Krishna in this satirical comedy-drama film. The Umesh Shukla directorial show the battle between spirituality and man. Kanji, played by Paresh Rawal, files a case in court against God after an earthquake destroys his stores and insurance policy doesn’t cover the loss. However, Lord Krishna exposes the corrupt people, and helps him fight the lawsuit.
Amitabh Bachchan in 'God Tussi Great Ho' (2008)
This fantasy comedy, written and directed by Rumi Jaffery, starred Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Sohail Khan. It is a remake of Hollywood comedy ‘Bruce Almighty’ (2003), starring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston. The film shows how a complaining common man is granted God’s powers for a brief period of time. Amitabh Bachchan played yyje God, reviving the role Morgan Freeman played in the original film.
Katrina in 'Hello' (2008)
The Atul Agnihotri directorial, starring Sharman Joshi, Sohail Khan, Gul Panag, Isha Koppikar, Amrita Arora, and Sharat Saxena, is based on Chetan Bhagat's novel ‘One Night @ the Call Center’.
Katrina and Salman had cameo roles in this thriller film. Katrina featured as mysterious storyteller-Angel of God.
Asrani in 'Taqdeerwala' (1995)
The Book of Destiny gets misplaced and Yamraj, the god of death, and Lord Chitragupt, played by Asrani, (who keep a complete record of actions of humans) descend on Earth in search for it. However, they find it in the hands of a man who is unwilling to part with it. The fantasy action comedy, directed by K. Murali Mohana Rao, stared Venkatesh and Raveena Tandon in lead roles.
Vikram Gokhale in 'Yehi hai Zindagi' (1977)
This film starred Sanjeev Kumar, Seema Deo, Utpal Dutt, Lucky Ali, Ramesh Deo and Neeta Mehta. It narrates the story of Anand Narayan, played by Sanjeev Kumar, who is a poor family man struggling to meet ends. As he progresses in life, from being a tea vendor to a hotel king, Lord Krishna frequently visits him advising him to learn from the Mahabharat, that every life is a struggle, which is confused by relations, and also by one’s ego.
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