The opening moments of OKKM set the tone for everything that follows: an entire village is planning to visit a Muniyaandi temple. This might sound like an insignificant Sunday evening outing for us city folks, but for these villagers tucked away in dusty Virudhunagar, it is a celebration. And one that needs a lot of preparation.
And so we have the newly-married Ramamoorthy (Vidharth) and his family members in a heated discussion with the lorry owner over the renting of a vehicle. In the midst of this he tries to steal a moment with his wife (Seetha, played by Raveena), which is offset by a bunch of fun-loving villagers getting ready for the big day.
- Director : Suresh Sangaiah
- Cast : Vidharth, Raveena, George, Hello Kandasamy, Aarumugam
- Storyline : An entire village heads to a temple to offer a goat as sacrifice, but uneventful happenings play spoilsport
It’s not just us, the audience, who’re watching all this with mild amusement but also the sacrificial goat that will be offered to God (Muniyaandi) in a few days. OKKM is narrated through the eyes of that goat.
It remains a spectator throughout as the main plot unveils – the lorry runs someone over and a false story has to be created – but the goat’s relevance remains till the end.
OKKM ’s narrative could have easily gone astray and caused some moments that lag, but director Suresh Sangaiah manages to keep you in a tight grip throughout. He weaves a suspense-laden thriller – you keep wanting to know what would eventually happen to the man who was ‘murdered’ – but that is well layered with some genuinely funny sub-plots and strong valid points about animal slaughter.
The casting is perfect, and I’m not talking just about the lead pair - Vidharth and Raveena – who play their parts well. The bunch of villagers who accompany them on the journey are a wonderful lot; their camaraderie and verbal jousts liven things up. Not only is their Tamil earthy and so exciting, but their names too are – there’s someone called Kondi and another called Sevval. The pick of the lot was one named Yezhara (seven and a half). It’s this bunch of simple, innocent people that make OKKM utterly charming.
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