Okkadochadu Review

The Vishal-Tamannah-Jagapathi film 'Okkadocchadu' has hit the screens today.  Here is our review of this Suraj directed movie.

Story:

Arjun (Vishal) comes to Chennai to win over the heart of Divya (Tamanna) a psychology student. He achieves this by employing certain tricks with the help of his friend (played by Soori), a comic local rowdy and his assistants.

Divya is the youngster sister of Chandrabose (Jagapathi Babu) the Deputy Commissioner of police. Arjun wins the confidence of the DC also and the latter gives his nod for their wedding.

Only later, Chandrabose learns that the real motive of Arjun is not marry Divya, but the huge money he has stealthily grabbed from an imprisoned criminal (Tarun Arora).

Who is Arjun? What is the background of his quest for Chandrabose's ill-gotten money? Does Arjun achieve his mission? The answers to these questions are answered in the rest of the film.

Analysis:

After an interesting chase sequence between a ruthless criminal driving a container stacked with huge money and a powerful police officer, we get set with our seat belts on for a thrilling ride. But the film immediately shifts to comedy and romance. Soori's comedy gets a lion's share of first half but it does not work out as much as it should have, except raising a few guffaws here and there.

The romantic sequences between Vishal and Tamannah work to an extent, thanks to the inherent freshness of the pairing. Only towards the interval does the film pick up momentum, owing to two back-to-back twists.

The second half follows the same path of action and comedy.  But here Vadivelu takes charge of comedy and does serve the purpose.  His signature body language may well entertain the old-timers amongst us. The last 20 minutes reveal the mysteries about the hero and his actions. This includes some emotional sequences involving a pathetic state of a village (with some political insensitivity thrown in), and also has some takeaway message.

The action blocks wants us to suspend disbelief and we are ready for that given this is a mass masala entertainer. Given this concession. the action scenes are likeable mainly due to Vishal's verve.

The big drawback of 'Okkadocchadu' is that, except for the two twists in the first half, there is no scope for any surprise factor in the latter half.  Even the pre-climax portions fail to make adequate impact.  It's also unrealistic that someone can so easily cheat the police department in this age of technology.

Vishal, as usual, excels in action sequences and provides good support to the comedians. Tamannah oozes glamour in the songs, but hardly has much scope for performance.

For all the deficient characterization, Jagapathi Babu fits the bill as a scheming police officer, while Tarun Arora (who will be seen in 'Khaidi No. 150') looks menacing enough.  Confining Nirosha to just a dialogue may disappoint some.

Hihop Tamizha's songs are peppy and come with proper placement, but lack in recall value. They are lavishly filmed, though.  The RR is apt throughout.  The rich production values are evident in Richard M Nathan's cinematography, and he also proves his mettle in capturing the chase sequences (which were made on a huge budget) without seeming disturbing.

Verdict:

The film would have done well with a gripping screenplay in the second half.  Creative liberties could have been minimized.  With a decent acting and technical output, this should work for votaries of a certain type of mass entertainers.

ఒక్కడొచ్చాడు తెలుగు వెర్షన్ మూవీ రివ్యూ