What is civilisation? Who are the truly civilised? Bear with me, for I agree no review of MSG2 Messenger Of God — coming to us from auteur godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan — should begin with any remotely deep conversation, but this production is an unlikely beast, a laughable product that nevertheless forces us to introspect a bit and ask ourselves who we are.

The first MSG was an outlandish work of gargantuan buffoonery wherein Mr Insan single-handedly waged war on drugs. In this sequel, he goes deep into weird jungles and tries, in his own smiling and uniquely violent way, to rehabilitate the savages. This, I feel after having sat through MSG2, might be more presumptuous even than most missionaries. Because who’s to say aboriginal “Junglee” savages are any less civilised than a hirsute man who leaps off jeeps — and onto elephants — while dressed as Lady Gaga on a particularly technicolor day. (And, for that matter, how civilised is a world where movies like these are made and watched, by several, without irony?)

Still, this is a genuinely staggering bit of flamboyance, with Mr Insan — taking on the role of actor, director, cinematographer, composer, choreographer, rap artist and (naturally) costumier — drowning with an absolute lack of self-awareness in a self-made sea of cinematic sewage. It’s enough self-aggrandisement to make Salman Khan and Arnab Goswami appear subtly self-effacing, and just scaling those heights of ego is… Well, something else.

MSG 2 is a bizarre experience, and while definitely one that would make me want to ask Rediff for a raise, it’s mercifully an hour shorter than the unending first release and may also prove to be a daftly enjoyable release for those partaking in the substances Mr Insan is so vehemently opposed to. (Or is he?)

Rating: No stars

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First published Rediff, September 18, 2015