Olipporu

An unconventional film that doesn’t have anything refreshing to offer; the latest film Olipporu, starring Fadh Fazil is a bizarre attempt to set up a social satire in the backdrop of literature. With a cluttered script that focuses too much on intellectual sarcasm and heavy characters that are hard to relate in the plot, this film disappoints its audience big time.

The story here revolves around Ajayan, a blogger who writes with the pseudo name “Olipporoali”. Ajayan has been assigned the task of scripting a show conducted by a group of bloggers including him. On the day before the event he is met with a road accident and is in a critical condition. The film basically is a flash back journey through the upbringing of this character.

For those who felt Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla as a pathetic film, this movie will surely give a chance to rethink as it clearly shows the lack of conviction of script and direction. While VKP and Shanker Ramakrishnan were successful in setting up their character by depicting his past and the influences, the makers of Olipporu failed in conceiving that part. Here what we can see is a bunch of characters with inappropriate complexities. Apart from the character played by Sunil Sukhada in the movie, there isn’t a single character we can relate to. And because of this, a large percentage of audience will feel alienated. Also a lack of aim is disturbing the film as it tries to go through too many dimensions of a character.

Direction and scripting are on the down side without any doubt. The script is somewhat a scattered one which doesn’t want to convey anything in particular. For a larger portion its focusing on the main protagonist’s personal empowerment and transformation and somewhere abruptly it takes a deviation towards his social commitment. The character formations were also senseless. The idea of central character narrating the story like a drama itself has taken away the charm from the director’s chair. Cinematography is fair and the edits were poor. The music is irritating (at least for me).

Performance wise Fahadh Faasil is comfortable in his character as Ajayan. Kalabhavan Mani showed his caliber in his character. The rest of the cast doesn’t demand any special appreciation. The other bloggers played by actors like Aju Varghese, Deepak are just about convincing. The female lead Subhiksha was disappointing.

Overall, Olipporu is a disappointing craft. There isn’t a single moment to take with you when you leave the cinema hall. Those scattered sarcasms in some dialogs promised some hope but they never really took off. My rating is 1.5/5 for Olipporu. This Guerrilla War may work as a play.