Hopes were flying pretty high as Mohanlal was getting ready to team up with his favourite Sreenivsan. The inimitable duo had been undoubtedly the pair who had made us think and laugh to the most, with their previous Mollywood satire classics. And as they come together once again, the first question was whether they still show the lustre they have in their magical golden days. Though the answer may be not at all positive, their latest endeavor, ‘Oru Naal Varum’ still manages to end up as a watchable fare which may prove a success, in the long run.
The movie is based on the life of a corrupt, assistant town planning officer, Gopikrishnan (played by Sreenivasan). A ruthless deal maker who is always in the lookout for bribes, he makes his demands through his driver (Suraj Venjaramoodu). At the same time he makes his family consisting of his naive wife (Devayani) and a daughter aiming for MBBS (Naasreen) believe that this is just ‘give and take’ deal between friends, rather than bribes.
Mohanlal comes up as Kulappulli Sukumaran alias Jayakrishnan, desperately in need of a sanction to build a home on his own land. He is a single parent of his school going daughter, as his ambitious wife is separated from him. Gopikrishnan makes him run all rounds in the memory of their previous road rage, which makes up the much of entertainments in the former half. The subplots include that of Nedumudi Venu, an ex-army man who is harassed by Gopikrishnan for an illegal extension in his home as the army man resists to pay bribes.
The movie works well in the former half but the twist that came out of the blue towards the intermission, takes the life out of the later sequences. The second half is quite serious and brings out a yawn at times. Sreenivasan as usual assimilates the day to day struggles of commoner into the narratives, but lacks the gallows humour that has been his trademark. He had reworked many of the winning lines like those on skin colour and fair looking wife and daughter, but his writing remains a pale shadow of his glory days.
Coming to the performances, Mohanlal is brilliant donning the lighter sequences in the first half with an impeccable timing of presentations .But Sreenivasan looks artificial, overdone and jaded. Sameera Reddy looks wooden and lacks any chemistry with Lal while Devayani walks off with a believable role. Nasreen as Dhanya, Suraj as driver and Nedumudi Venu as an ex-service man are also impressive.
Despite its optimistic name, ‘Oru Naal Varum’ is a movie that struggled really hard to get to theatres. But even after coming from such fine professionals, the movie fails to give any big impressions. The only good thing is that when compared to the recent outings from Lal, ‘Oru Naal Varum’ is a much better affair that may interest you in parts.
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