19 September,2026 08:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Priyanka Sharma
A still from ‘Om Ka Hari’
What happens when a film mistakes simplicity for being simplistic? You get a story that doesn't seem to have the ambition to rise above its good intentions. That's the case with director-writer Harish Vyas' Om Ka Hari, a family drama starring an ensemble led by Raghubir Yadav, Anshuman Jha, and Soni Razdan.
Bhopal-based Hari Prasad Sharma (Yadav), like any other Indian patriarch, believes that a good husband should be the family's breadwinner, while a successful father should get his daughters married into affluent families and raise his son to secure a stable government job. Hari's elder daughter marries as per his wishes, while the younger one wants to ace a government exam - both compliant enough to give him an ego boost.
His son, Om Prasad Sharma (Jha), however, is at ease with his independent ways, much to Hari's annoyance. From choosing to start a business to marrying a woman whom Hari barely respects, Om is the typical rebel in the family. He has the support of his mother, Saroj (Razdan), who believes in moving with the times. How the father and son find common ground after the patriarch realises that his dated mindset needs to change, and the young man eventually recognises the love behind his parent's verbal lashes, form the core of the story.
Om Ka Hari doesn't have a conflict strong enough to make the story dramatic or keep one invested. So, while it has genuine, heartfelt moments, dialogues that lend spontaneity to the visuals, and performances that mostly feel lived-in, the film remains a sweet drama that is instantly forgettable. The conflicts and its resolutions are so casual that they hardly justify a two-hour runtime.
Having said that, it is a sincere attempt, not just in its portrayal of a regular lower-middle class Indian household, but also in the way its principal cast approaches their roles. Yadav and Razdan, in particular, stand out. Yadav, as the perpetually grumpy retired government employee, is pitch-perfect, single-handedly elevating even the filler moments. He finds a charming match in Razdan, who brings alive the common Indian woman who finds the strength and spark to pursue her dreams through her son's independence, even if it comes decades after patriarchy cut short her agency.
But one wishes Jha had packed more punch into his performance, given that his character forms half of the film's title. Even in the few emotionally charged and dramatic sequences, the actor seems detached and lost, making his character dull and monotonous. There is definitely chemistry between him and Yadav, but their scenes fail to create the desired impact, courtesy of the dreariness in Jha's performance. In the end, one doesn't care much about the relationship between Om and Hari, contrary to what Vyas would have wanted.
The maker could have explored the inner lives of the characters better if Om Ka Hari had been a series. It would have also given them time to build an engaging conflict in their relationships. But as a film, it's an ordinary assortment of sweet moments that hold little significance.
