Odiyan

We have seen him rise from the water in Naran and Narasimham; in Odiyan too he does the same but this time by saving a drowning lady in his hands. Later on, he returns to his native village Thenkurissi after a long gap of 15 years and sits beneath a giant tree with a cup of tea. In an attempt to provoke him, a group of youngsters mocks him and challenges his abilities on Odividya and here come the age-old gimmicks one by one. His leg swirls like what he did before a fight scene in previous mass masala flicks; he then stands up and ties his long hair backward ( cut to Aaram Thampuran where he did the same with a slight difference of the hair been replaced by a red scarf), clubs his fingers together (copy paste shot in Yodha prior to an action sequence) and walks away pointing his index finger against opponents (replica mode of feudal heroism in Devasuram and Raavanaprabhu)! Mission accomplished??

Odiyan Manickyan is indeed an impactful character in Superstar Mohanlal's career but molded indistinctly by writer Harikrishnan and executed awfully by debutant director Shrikumar Menon. The non-linear mode of storytelling is brilliantly done by writer-director Vetrimaran with an engaging plot in recent Tamil hit Vada Chennai whereas, in Odiyan the screenplay itself is too shallow to be weaved in a similar manner and hence failed to evoke any interest in the narration. The first half goes on smoothly through the early life of Manickyan and it is delightful to see the physical transformation of Mohanlal to become the younger Manickyan aided with a chiseled body and acrobatic moves in the fight sequences. Hailing from a low caste faction, his loyalty towards urban childhood lover Prabha (Manju Warrier) is justified; but the concept of denying her love is an unwise decision, considering the stubborn Manickyan is over the top in every occasion tackling hurdles in his life.

The grey shaded Ravunni (Prakash Raj) is lustful for Prabha and does as many tricks as he can to get her in his life. He is from the upper caste community and surprisingly the only dark colored member in the high-class family! How come? The flawed script has the answer in a dialogue from Prabha to Ravunni, "Your mind is also dark like your body". Here the storyteller follows a mysterious path in convincing the antagonist as evil-minded via skin tone and at the same time Manickyan, born to a proletariat grass-root couple is exceptionally handsome with a glowing skin just because he is the protagonist! The writing is absurd and loosely bound; for instance, it took 15 years for Manickyan to track the assassin behind Prabha's husband whereas the viewers can easily figure out the culprit within first few minutes of the movie. Direction too fall flat in many occasions with the magical song "Kondoram" induced in the later half towards the climax thereby making the film more dilute and faded.

Furthermore, we have a tea shop owner Damodaran (Siddique) who is the feel-good companion of Manickyan for the appraisal in prime moments and a spirited Gopi Mash essayed by Innocent to glorify the devil-may-care acts of the central character (ditto of Kadutha in Puli Murugan). Packed with these bundle of cliches, Odiyan is a classic example of how a mediocre script evolves out if landed in the hands of an amateur director. By equipping the film with Hollywood technicians and marketing it as an out-of-the-box product, the ad-filmmaker-turned-director is solely accountable for the outburst of diehard Mohanlal fans. Not as dull as Neerali or not as monotonous as Drama, Odiyan is definitely a better outing from the superstar but not a complete package for the cinephiles to cherish.

Poor directed movie. Movie is laging in second half. But mohanlal done his best.

As a super star of mollywood mohanlal maintained his stardom throughout the film.Eventhough the story has little minute errors those are avoidable.Its a highly recommend movie if you love fantasy movies

Odiyan was the culmination of more than 2 years of intense and unwilling determination of several individuals and artists, that worked their assess of and promoted the Mohanlal starrer to sky high limits. The hype and anticipation surrounding Odiyan cannot be replicated by no other film in an industry within the same limits that Odiyan achieved it. It would take a year, nay 2 at the least to get the status and promotion that Odiyan managed to grab within its production time. By means of measuring the crew's work ethic on Promotion and Marketing, they should receive a thunderous and welcoming applause. This is also part reason why the film failed in its early screenings to get the reaction that they so badly anticipated.

Odiyan is next in the club of 'sky hype films that failed to impress'. Kammara Sambhvam, Kayamkulam Kochunni (critically), Villain, Gangster, Casanova and now Odiyan all are films that should have performed way well critically based on the aura surrounding the release and hype. It's not that the film is bad, it's partly because of the trust that they audience entrust into the hands of the Director to make their 'Star' God-like. And when they fail in that respect, they should at least utilise the power and people support that the actor possesses. Pre-release Inflated collections, Overkill tweets and media attention all were part of the Odiyan-killing fest.

Odiyan works in parts in its own way. It becomes grounded and closer to reality than you probably expected. It was presented well, as a folklore, a mystery but what we came down to was some guys earning money by scaring other dudes. But it wasn't BAD. It's all about perspective and probably the only thing one can say to console themselves.

Odiyan excels in its songs, the technical aspects, the powerful and excellent BGM and most of the lead performances. Manju Warrier's performance was meh. It wasn't too good nor too bad. It was just Manju Warrier playing Manju Warrier generic roles. Sana Althaf did her part right. And the supporting cast just yells excellence. From Siddique to Prakash Raj, the lead cast is often tipped over by the overflowing supporting casts. The direction was fine. The handling of the script and putting together the film could have been way, way better. It just shows why a debutant can't make miracles, let alone handle one. I can't say if Mohanlal is used completely here. He does evoke all the necessary emotions at the right time and deserves to be the spotlight. But the lack of characters that has actual lines in comparison to characters that are so one dimensional they are just there to glorify and praise Mohanlal.

Praise be to the crew. They did what they could do and did wonders. The VFX, the other technical aspects were all fine and doesn't give any hiccups to spare. Shrikumar Menon is the central figure that everyone is gonna throw stones at. And Odiyan just might be something that we may never 'forget'.

Odiyan's strong start and strong finish barely makes it a strict one time watch. Watch it for Mohanlal and the brilliantly crafted atmosphere for which i applaud the Cinematography for. Odiyan is no film that achieves wonders. But it is still a film made with good intentions, ain't?

Yes there was potential but an ambitious project like this needs skillful men behind this.With both the writer and director failing at their job its a collosal disappointment.

Expectations were lot from Peter Hein who rocked last time with Pulimurugan. But with an ordinary work he is also in the blacklist here.Even the much talked about 'Odi' scenes aren't convincing as most of them looks silly.

Coming to the cast all the roles are poorly etched apart from @Mohanlal and a talented protagonist material like Prakash Raj is offered a plastic character which is another flaw.

Technically the visuals are top notch and Sam's bgm work is commendable but the same cannot be said about editing which acts as a villain for the films non-linear narration.

And about the hero @Mohanlal , we all know how much effort and pain he has gone through for this project but in the wrong hands all of that goes in vain. But his appearance is one of the few positives in this weak film.