A movie that gels reality and dream sequences with unique characters – one an introverted bumpkin and other a striking paranormal investigator, ‘Adventures of Omanakuttan’ is not the usual run of the mill story. It is experimental in its narration and plot. There are many personas to Omanakuttan and this multiplicity in characterization makes for a lot of twists and turns. Things might seem a bit too stretched at times, but the overall impact is good enough, though a bit confusing.
In a nutshell, the movie is all about Omanakuttan (Asif Ali) finding himself. He is this shy person who is introverted and inferior working for a hair oil company. After being rejected by his colleague he decides to act on his manager’s advice to market himself better. He then takes on various guises with different women over phone with one of them being Pallavi (Bhavana), who is a bubbly and attractive Kannada girl. Things take a turn when he finds himself near a garbage dump with no idea of who he is. Then begins his quest to unravel himself, with the help of Pallavi.
What ensues is a lot of twists and turns in the narrative. These do keep the viewers engaged. That said, many may find some of the sequences a drag, but it only aids in setting the experimental tone. One has to empathize with Omanakuttan to really like the movie. While the first half of the movie establishes the character, the second half is made quite gripping with the twists and turns. Director Rohit V S has narrated a tale which is poignant. The problem with the movie is that it meanders with too many sub plots, with many of them stretched beyond limit. A more compact trimming would have done wonders considering this to be a nearly 3 hr adventure.
Asif Ali is great as Omanakuttan. The mannerisms of a shy person are conveyed perfected in his body language and dialogue delivery. The change later on is also realistically conveyed. Bhavana is again perfect as Pallavi. Her charisma and charm is conveyed well. Also, the screen presence of the actress and her dialogue delivery is admirable. Kalabhavan Shajon given a packed performance. The supporting team including Siddique, Srinda, Aju Varghese et al have done well. Saiju Kurup’s rejoinders add humour.
Rohit’s direction is good enough though he needed to have been more conscious about the content. The edits could have been sharper, especially in the second half. Music is good and some of them stay. The back story narration is good. Frames are very colourful and the art work is palatable as it fits the theme very well.
‘Adventures of Omanakuttan’, though too long an adventure, is a watchable movie. The way the twists and turns unfold is engaging enough.
