Adventures of Omanakuttan, starring Asif Ali and Bhavana in the lead roles, hit the theatres on May 19 without much hype. But a few days after its theatrical release, a touching comment by its director Rohith VS on Facebook changed the fate of the movie from not being a torrent-hit like Tovino Thomas' Guppy.
Also read: Celebs promote Adventures of Omanakuttan
"If you want to watch the movie [Adventures of Omanakuttan], do it before it goes off the screen," [translated from Malayalam]," the debutant filmmaker commented, and soon Mollywood celebrities started promoting the movie requesting the audience to watch the experimental movie than later regretting about it.
And the result? The movie was screened with packed shows in many parts of the state, and Adventures of Omanakuttan, which otherwise wouldn't have released outside Kerala, hit the screens in Australia and New Zealand on May 27 and in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Chennai and Hyderabad on Friday, June 2. The power of social media indeed!
But how good is Adventures of Omanakuttan? Here's IBTimes India's take
Who is Omanakuttan? What are the mysteries that lie behind him? The movie answers these questions, but only with its dragging narrative.
The weak point of the experimental movie is of course its slow pace story telling method, which Asif in a recent Facebook live video had mentioned that they have done intentionally as the script demands so, especially in the first half of the film. But isn't that affecting the mood of the audience? People were seen yawning while watching the film! Not once, but many a time.
Now, coming to the second half. After establishing Omanakuttan, the movie moves in a better pace post interval with a few unexpected twists and turns in between. That's a plus point, but, Omanakuttan still remains as a mysterious character leaving many doubts in mind.
What stands out in Adventures of Omanakuttan? The one-liners that are heard at times, especially by Saiju Kurup's character as well as the notable performances of Asif, Bhavana, Siddique and Kalabhavan Shajon are the plus points of the movie. However, Aju Varghese, Srinda and Aditi Ravi do not have much screen presence in it.
The mannerisms of introvert Omanakuttan and the changes we see in him after his memory loss look convincing, and can be considered as one of the best characters he has ever portrayed. The hard work put in by the actor for the movie is worth a mention. Bhavana as Pallavi looks extremely gorgeous than ever before, and she has delivered a natural performance, which is sure to impress the audience. Though it doesn't look like a challenging character, she looks natural, energetic and the dialogue deliveries are appreciable.
Adventures of Omanakuttan's cinematography by Akhil George makes it visually appealing as Arun Muraleedharan and Dawn Vincent's music and songs sync well with the mood of the film. But it would have been great if editor Livingston Mathew was allowed to cut out few portions from the three-hour movie. There are many sub plots that made Adventures of Omanakuttan an unnecessarily lengthy movie. The film is set in Mysuru and has quite a lot of Kannada dialogues, but was screened without subtitles.
Final words: The theme of Adventure of Omanakuttan is different, but a tighter script would have made it more entertaining.
Response from a theatre in Bengaluru
Adventures of Omanakuttan was screened at Gopalan Grand Mall in Bengaluru on Friday. However, despite the massive publicity on social media that was filled with positive reviews, less than 30 cine-goers were only present. Was it because people were not aware of its release in the city?
Did the audience really enjoy the movie? The way people reacted during the interval break look like the Asif Ali-starrer is not the cup of tea for everyone. "They could have finished it by the interval itself," commented a movie-goer. Another was heard saying: "Oh God! Why are they dragging it so much?" Even after the movie ended, there were faces that looked confused. Nevertheless, many have said good words on the performances of Asif and Bhavana.
