Film: Onnam
Loka Mahayudham
Direction: Sreevarun
Cast: Aparna Gopinath, Tovino Thomas, Chemban Vinod, Jojo
How long does it take for a particular trend or template to go out of fashion in the film industry? In Kerala, at least, it seems that would take ages. So much so that one starts feeling uneasy right from that familiar initial voice-over of the protagonist which starts with the line – “this might be a regular day for most of you, but not for me.”It’s a style which could still work, but not when the script deals with such a commonplace theme like a deal gone wrong. Onnam Loka Mahayudham , the debut directorial venture of Sreevarun, is one more to the growing list of pointless films which stays well within that box which was defined and went out of favour several years back in the West.
Doctor Jacob (Tovino Thomas), who played the suave young politician in ABCD, is someone who has several shady drug deals with the underworld. We tail him when he is on one such deal. The lives of his wife and kid are on the line. Tracking him closely is an ambitious and hot-headed assistant commissioner (Aparna Gopinath), for whom the case is a way to better her service record filled with black marks.
Then there are the inevitable comical side characters who end up being the saving graces for the film. Right from the first frame, a sense of foreboding, of something about to happen, is maintained, only to be deceived time and again when things fizzle out. The background music contributes to this in no small measure. The ‘twist’ in the end is unpredictable, but it does look a bit contrived.
S.R. Praveen
