Oru Naal Varum

It felt too good to be true, as if the unbelievable chemistry of Mohanlal and Sreenivasan that once lighted up the screen twenty plus years ago had finally succeeded in making a comeback. Not like the botched up attempt in Udayanaanu Tharam, this was almost like the real second coming.  Then the tape got stuck. Ouch!

In Oru Naal Varum, for a brief span of time, poetically akin to a single wing flap of a humming bird we could catch a glimpse of that old Mohanlal, before the weight of superstardom and wig was added to his persona. Mohanlal – Malayalam’s original bumbling, likeable, mischievous dude-next door. His old pal Sreenivasan was there to keep him company, in another of his self-deprecating, slightly dark roles. Then the story took a turn for the worse and the Superstar emerged. 

After that, the fall was quick, the illusion of a second coming of the legendary pair shattered mercilessly by a weakening plot and a superstar gaining power by the minute. Have you ever felt like rooting for the enemy, wishing corruption had gotten the upper hand and signing a pact with the Devil ? I get that feeling once in a while, especially when watching self-righteous characters, which Mohanlal seems to do in abundance lately, including the one in this movie as vigilance officer Nandakumar.

Devayani and Sameera Reddy are odd choices for the film’s two female roles. It was good to see Devayani after a long while, though who ever did the dubbing made it sound as if I had heard this female a zillion times in a zillion Malayalam movies. Why, Sameera Reddy, I have no clue, we will have to ask Maniyan Pillai Raju, the producer. The kids in this move are normal, it was refreshing to see a change after the hyper-active 'smart' kids infesting present day Malluwood. 

The lesson learned again today, if it is too good to be true, it is not true.