Oppam movie review: Mohanlal's film is intriguing at its core, but lacks depth

Oppam opens to an uncanny introduction of the villain. Director Priyadarshan ushers us straight into the plot, which is yet another revenge saga.

Cast: Mohanlal, Samuthirakani, Nedumudi Venu and Vimala Raman
Director: Priyadarshan
Rating:

Given that it's a crime thriller, what's intriguing is the director's treatment of the subject. As for the plot, Jayaram (Mohanlal) is a visually-impaired man, who is a lift operator at a gated society. He befriends everyone in the vicinity, including retired Chief Justice Krishnamoorthy (Nedumudi Venu).

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About 15 minutes into it, Oppam looks like a promising family drama and has no trace of being a crime thriller. But the film picks up pace when Krishnamoorthy reveals his past to Jayaram, where one misjudgement cost the lives of the villain's family. So, the villain is out there. He seeks revenge. When the villain kills Krishnamoorthy, Jayaraman confronts him and attempts to nab him. His encounter with the villain ends in a misfire and Jayaraman is suspected of a crime he never committed. When Jayaraman is taken into custody, he senses the presence of the villain, who the director introduces as Vasudevan (Samuthirakani).

The director pushes the adrenaline so much that the interval of Oppam too keeps one on the edge of his/her seat. The rest of the plot follows how Jayaram proves himself innocent and safeguards Krishnamoorthy's daughter Nandini (Baby Meenakshi) from Vasudevan.

Oppam, on many levels, is solid at its core. Unlike many commercial entertainers, the film is formulaic and Priyadarshan keeps building up the plot.

The first half of the film is superb. It runs close to one-and-a-half-hours, but doesn't lag anywhere. In fact, it keeps the audience hooked till the interval. Speaking of which, Oppam has one of the best interval blocks. The scene with Jayaraman and Vasudevan is probably the soul of Oppam and the music director gives a fitting, pulsating background score.

With a solid subject, the second half of the film is half as rivetting as the first half. Though the cat-and-mouse chase is delightful for the first 15 minutes or so in the second half, it only gets worse towards the end.

However, there's one particular portion in the second half that is well-executed. Jayaram is tortured by the police to accept the murder. So much so, that the audience is apprehensive of the scenes. A few seconds later, Jayaraman unfolds his lungi and smacks them all.

If it sounds sketchy, considering the plot, the scene does deliver the adequate goose-fleshy moments, or Lalettan moments, to be precise. Oppam goes into a sub-plot involving Devayani (Vimala Raman) and Madhavan (Arun Benny), and it seems Priyadarshan loses his way somewhere in the second half.

Oppam is one of those competitive exams you write. You have prepared well, you have performed well. But when the results are out, you just manage pass marks.

Mohanlal nails his Jayaraman effortlessly. Even though he's blind, Jayaraman is intelligent. He makes the audience believe that one can solve the mystery with heightened senses of smell, sound and touch. Samuthirakani plays Vasudevan in the film. The casting is unusual but he's great. However, it feels as if the director wanted Samuthirakani's presence more than his performance.

Apart from the leads, there's an interesting character Kunjika played by Mamukkoya. He gives the comical relief.

Oppam has some extraordinary tracks composed by Ron Ethan Yohaan. Though the song Chinnamma Adi makes you tap your foot, it is Minungum Minnaminunge that becomes an instant addiction.

In a nutshell, Oppam might have been solid on paper, but when it comes to execution, it succeeds only in parts.

( The writer tweets as @TheLoner_7126 )