What comes to your mind when you think of Bollywood’s favourite kidnapping vehicle? A Maruti Suzuki Omni, right? Well, not just that, most of us have remembered it as school van which easily and magically used to accommodate 16 kids or more at once. Soon, it will become a thing of the past as the company is going to discontinue it.
Maruti Suzuki has exclusively confirmed to NDTV’s carandbike that the car which was launched in 1984 in India will be discontinued after October 2020, when the Bharat New Vehicles Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) will be enforced.
Speaking to NDTV, R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India said:
“There are certain models that cannot be made ready to meet the upcoming safety norms and we will have to discontinue them, Maruti Omni being one of them. The Maruti 800 was a very important model for us but we had to discontinue it, in a similar manner we will also discontinue the Omni.”
Now with the announcement of Omni’s retirement, people on Twitter are paying their respects.
Am I the only one who was shit scared when seeing Maruti Omni in childhood . I used to hide if I was seeing it near my home xD
— Hrithwik Bharadwaj (@HSBTechYt) October 27, 2018
Indeed, Bollywood’s favourite kidnapping car
After 34 years, #Maruti Omni , #Bollywood ‘s favourite kidnapper car will be discontinued…,
— Ravi Shah (@RaviSha55107336) October 26, 2018
CID will be missed too?
Maruti Omni discountinued days after CID discontinued. Coincidence? :/
— SpeedDemon (@Sp33dDem0n) October 26, 2018
Ohhh, yes!
Indian movies have to reconsider an option for their car crashes after the discontinued maruti omni.
— Ibrar Hussain (@Ibrarbercha) October 26, 2018
So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your maruti omni….. abey ye to kidnap kar raha be… bachao bachao…..
— डी.के. (@itsdhruvism) January 30, 2017
True.True
Nothing evokes panic quite like a Maruti Omni van’s door suddenly sliding open near you.
— Amul Garg (@amulgarg) June 21, 2016
Maruti Omni, till date, remains the most kidnapping friendly vehicle pic.twitter.com/Scl9FNOFNG
— Partha Sinha (@parthasinha) March 7, 2016
Is it because of CID?
Since the declaration of the famed Maruti Omni going out of production, kidnapping and murder cases have gone down to virtually 0! This has resulted in the CID going out of business and off air after a span of about 21 years.
R.I.P. both.#CID #marutiomni
— Vayun Kedia (@i_m_vynkd) October 28, 2018
Breaking News!
Massive blow to kidnappers & Official indian kidnapping car in Indian Movies
Maruti Omni to be discontinued by the end of 2020 & it will soon become our growing old memories #marutiomni #kidnapping pic.twitter.com/rEZnescP4E
— Chetan (@cheetanpatil) October 27, 2018
Memories
The Official #Kidnapping Van finally retiring. #Maruti #Omni
Lots of memories of not being kidnapped, but fear of being kidnapped whenever the door slided before us. https://t.co/bq9cxw81JQ
— Raj (@Raj_KiBaat) October 27, 2018
Now that was the car
Maruti Omni was the only thing on 4 tyres that could go in any street without blocking it. Only car which could accommodate 16 kids magically in that tiny space. Many more qualities of the ugliest car/van ever built.
— Siddharth’s Mahaaz (@MahaazS) October 27, 2018
