Oh Manapenne

29-11-2021, Disney+Hotstar

Oh Manapenne is a film that is perfectly made for the OTT platform - which would otherwise be a TV Series or a YouTube short film.

No twists/turns, no complex narratives, no swirling cameras, the film is as linear as a line, plain and not so compelling. Yawning will take an active part while you are watching this film. There will neither be any reason for the characters to do what they do nor any explanation be provided by the narrative.

The comedy falls flat, acting is so synthetic and dubbing is awful. Although, the film is well made for what it's worth. We feel a sense of relief by the end of the film.

Yawning, Vetrri.

It felt slightly like a modified version of 3 idiots in the end when they present it about doing the work we're passionate about.

And I think this was the factor that made this film slightly different and now imagine taking this concept out of this film and it becomes one of those poorly made Tamil films. The heroine is something in this film as you cannot take your eyes away from watching her beauty.

Do the work you're passionate about and you'll never feel like working, ok now go & sleep.

From the first scene itself, you can easily guess the climax of the movie, but what makes this movie interesting is it's good screenplay and storytelling and beautiful visuals.

Priya looks gorgeous in every scene and has scored well in acting too, Harish & Anish Kuruvilla too has done really well.

Although some of the comedy scenes were very good, there are too many drinking scenes, which could have been better avoided. This aspect makes the film unsuitable for family audiences.

Although message of the movie - "Follow your heart" has been portrayed in many movies, light weight approach of this movie makes it different. If they have avoided those drinking scenes, it would have even collected good amount of money in theatres.

A feel good romantic comedy after a long time. I haven't seen the Telugu version so will not be able to say if it is ripped frame to frame. The casting is perfect and the actors don't overdo the dramatics. The only place I felt cringy (and harassing) was the part where Arjun (Ashwin) tries to woo Sruthi (Priya). The background sound processing / recording was spot on. Happy to see there are no item songs or distasteful scenes (Thanks to the director for keeping it clean). And, skip to 3:15 seconds on OTT platforms to get directly into the movie. The opening credits kept going on and on and on. Overall, a good movie that is watchable but not sure if it will have repeat viewing potential unless you have the blues (or have been recently dumped).

Watched the film with no expectations. Cheesy popcorn flick...worth onetime watch. Decent performance by all cast. Predictable climax. Lead has good chemistry.