ODIYAN - REVIEW

      Keeping apart the over-stimulated sensational splashes set prior to the movie release and casting off the cynical and derogatory reflections that followed soon after the release of the movie, Odiyan testifies to be a decent one time watch. No spoilers ahead. So keep sailing. Contrary to the promised hype and super-heroic paramour of the protagonist, the movie stretches out to be a run on the mill story, seemingly closer to many other previous movies in line. 

Inspired from an old folklore, the concept of the movie was to recast the last representative among the generations to practice the flair of illusions.  The concept being fresh, could have been put to more authentic and credible manifestations rather than a few scenes of mere mockery. The rural landscapes, the rustic backdrop and the visceral feelings of the characters had been delineated to a moderate level by the debutant director. But however, the highly predictable plot leads us more to the meandering roads of pure lethargy rather than any modes of exhilaration. 

       The star cast has done considerable justice to the roles and Mohanlal, as expected, had propelled his innate effervescence towards his character to shape it into the most refined and plausible form. Nevertheless, the unfathomable potential of this great actor couldn’t be stacked completely since the superpowers of the created character Manikyan lies much beneath the acting prowess of the celebrated actor. Unlike a super-hero like Bat-man garnished by Nolan, the movie is a typical blend of family ties, rivalry and revenge, wrapping the hero in his trials and tribulations.The subtle romance that creeps up through the margins of the story hits no harm anyway. The plot that swivels heavily back and forth, in a way, is a feather to the cap as to rate it on account of the meticulousness with which it was decoded, since contradictions and loopholes are visibly less. Being a period movie, it has built its visuals in a sturdy firmament with no anachronisms to list out. 

The movie roots its theme in illusions and the manifestations of these illusions should have been more pragmatic. Rather than the props like black horns and thick shanks used by the hero and taking it to the level of a farce, realistic demonstrations in a diverse way would have retained the pulse of the movie. The final sequence which could have really shifted the entire phase of the movie appears convincingly weak and fragile and should have been thought about in a more solid way. The robotic duplicates in action with horns and the massive blaze at the end has nothing beefy to leave with except for a climax that soars into oblivion the moment you step down from the theatre.

      However, there is nothing so disparaging with the movie as is witnessed in many reviews in the last two days. The Malayali society had been more enthusiastic in embracing a number of movies which were in fact bitter pills to swallow. It is true to the core that the movie isn’t triumphant enough to lock the price it had demanded. Though it stands nowhere closer to the unforgettable classics of Mohanlal, a one -time watch wouldn’t be anything to regret.

If you get into the theatre with humongous scales of expectation, make sure you bring home despair and distress !! 

Forget the massive hyperboles and cliched super-heroic flicks and just walk in, you can sit up easily for 167 minutes…

A. Krishna Sunder