Ore Mugam - Malayalam Movie Review

Our fondness for campus based stories have paved the way for many directors in Mollywood to tell stories based on this genre. Many of those movies have went on to become boxoffice spinners as well as getting critical accolades. A recent movie with a campus tag Aanandam from Vineeth Sreenivasan camp directed by newcomer Ganesh Raj is still running to packed houses. Another debutant Sajith Jagadnandan tries his luck in Mollywood through Oremugham, a movie that was getting indefinitely postponed and finally reaching theaters after those delays.

Oremugham belongs to a thriller genre narrated in a campus backdrop. Now the next big and valid question is whether the movie can thrill you for the suspense and murder mystery. Also can the movie provide enjoyment and entertainment for the campus portion of the story. Sad to say, the feedback from my end based on the satisfaction I received after watching Oremugham is a No.

Agree that this movie is coming from a director who is new to the field trying to make a big mark and at the same time going through some tough times to ensure the movie reach the audience. Major problem that caused uneasiness in the viewing pleasure was the over dramatic feel created when the campus portion of the story is told. Bulk of the dialogues and the way it was acted with an artificial flavor was the chief architect that created a feel as if we were watching a stage drama.

On to the story which is told with the past and the present begins with the murder of Aravind Menon, a wealthy businessman and an NRI. The resulting murder investigation shift its focus to Zachariah Pothen and his younger days in the campus. Story is structured and narrated with both the flashback and present moments shown one after another and naturally there is the chance of confusions happening with many characters being actively involved in the plot.

The screenplay had its share of confusion in establishing a proper flow as it struggled to give a clear picture to the story to successfully give the plot outline a clarity. The murder part and the final revelations were decent enough but how the screenplay approached that with a big share of confusion is a major factor that pulled the trigger in pushing the movie to a below average level even though the overall plot was good enough.

The romantic angle in the story all happening inside the campus wasn't effective at all and was more of a speed breaker halting the pace of the movie. A half baked screenplay, bad performances and poor presentation did the major damage to the movie that had potential in it to turn out to be a promising movie. But the above-mentioned elements didn't allow the product to get a result that the makers wanted and in the end Oremugham end up on the losing side.

Coming to performances, the character of Zachariah Pothen demanded an actor who was strong enough on the acting side to create a big impact. With all due respect to Dhyan Sreenivasan, in my opinion he was left wanting and missing at many places. There is a saying in Malayalam which when converted means something like asking a butterfly to lift a big stone. Same thing I felt while Dhyan was performing as Zakariah Pothen who couldn't get into the skin of that character due to his own limitations as an actor.

Aju Varghese, Deepak Parambol and Arjun Nandakumar are the other actors who acted as the close friends of Zakariah Pothen and they were just okay. The two female leads Prayaga and Gayathri were not able to do something worthwhile to make their presence felt with the latter going too artificial with her dialogue presentation. Chemban Vinod, Devi Ajith, Renji Panicker, Maniyan Pilla Raju, Haresh Perady, Abhirami and Jewel Mary were the other actors belonging to the supporting side.

Cinematography and the color tone used in the movie to create that eighties feel was quite good. Same goes for the decent cuts. Bijibal is the man behind the music and BGM scene and they were reasonably good.

Here is a classic case of a movie that had the quality and ability in it to be a more better product but unfortunately end up far lesser than it should have. Some of you might find it interesting to a certain extent based on the little dose of surprises waiting for you in the end but for me it wasn't.

Rating - 2 / 5