Umesh Shukla, the acclaimed moviemaker behind movies like "OMG – Oh My God!" and his upcoming release, "Aankh Micholi," recently talked about the intriguing backstory of casting Akshay Kumar as Lord Krishna in the 2012 movie, "OMG – Oh My God!" In an exclusive interview, he recalled how Akshay Kumar had reservations initially due to the performance of Amitabh Bachchan's portrayal of a deity in "God Tussi Great Ho" (2008).

As Umesh Shukla gets ready for the release of "Aankh Micholi," featuring a star-studded cast including Abhimanyu Dassani, Paresh Rawal, Mrunal Thakur, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Abhishek Banerjee, and Sharman Joshi, he took a trip down memory lane to discuss his rapport with Akshay Kumar and the casting process for "OMG."

Umesh Shukla's history with Akshay Kumar dates back to their collaboration in "Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi," where he worked as a co-actor.Talksing about their connection, Umesh stated, "Yes, as an actor. Actually, I also wrote a lot of movies (featuring the Bollywood star), as an assistant to Neeraj Vora. I wrote 'Hera Pheri,' 'Aawara Paagal Deewana,' 'Deewane Huye Paagal,' and 'Ajnabee,' among a few others. So I was involved in a lot of movies with him (Akshay), and I met him regularly. I knew him (before casting him in OMG). But it was Paresh Rawal ji's relationship with Akshay (which was very good) and that is how we were able to meet him very easily (for the 2012 movie)."

Recalling the moment when he approached Akshay Kumar for the role of Krishna in "OMG," Umesh shared, "When we told Akshay bhai about this, initially he had that thing. 'This is a God, how will I play God's character?' He was in a double mind at that time because there was another movie that had released around that time and it featured Bachchan sir as a God but it did not quite work. So he (Akshay) thought, 'How will I play God's character when Bachchan sir could not.' For him, it was like this. But when he saw the play (Kanji Virudh Kanji, Umesh Shukla's play on which the movie was based), he understood. It (Akshay's role) was a quite fleshed-out character. So he agreed soon."

Amitabh Bachchan had played the role of God in the 2008 movie "God Tussi Great Ho," co-starring Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra. However, the movie was a box office disappointment, becoming one of the major flops of that year.

Regarding concerns about creating a God's character in a modern context, Umesh expressed his confidence, saying, "No, I didn't get it (while making the movie). Because I had already done the play. My homework was already ready. I had seen its live response in the play. So in the experiment, it was like this - I get an audience (who buy) tickets worth ₹50 and then there are those who buy tickets for ₹500 or even ₹750 maybe. (I had seen the) unanimous reaction of all those people. So I was not really skeptical. Of course, when I was (skeptical) while writing it. When we were creating the character."

Umesh also praised Akshay Kumar's adaptability and understanding of the script, emphasizing, "He is very adaptive. Discipline is what everyone says now. That he comes at the right time, but he is very adaptive. He never has (directives) about what to do. I really feel that he adapts things very fast. He understands the grammar. I mean, he understands the script very well."

While there were earlier reports of a potential "OMG 2," Umesh clarified that he was working on a different script, which is why the project did not materialize. The sequel, "OMG 2," was eventually helmed by director Amit Rai and released earlier this year to acclaim.

As for his latest movie, "Aankh Micholi," originally slated for a theatrical release on October 27, the movie's release date was shifted to November 3. Umesh explained the change, stating, "We just thought that releasing the family movie around Diwali would be a better idea. It is a neat and clean movie that can be enjoyed with kids, and everyone."

The movie's trailer introduces Mrunal Thakur as a young girl with night blindness, and her family's decision to conceal her condition from her future husband. This plotline may remind some of Kader Khan's character from the 90s hit "Bol Radha Bol." However, Umesh clarified that the inspiration for this aspect of the story came from personal experiences within his own family. He shared, "Only Mrunal Thakur's character may remind you of that. But the premise (of hiding basic facts about bride or groom), is something that happens around us. It happened with my sister. So we had fixed a match for her, but only a week before the marriage, we got to know that the guy had night blindness. We were shocked. There was no need to hide it; they should have shared it with us, and we could have taken things differently."