Crime thrillers are rarely experimented in Malayalam cinema, and when they are, they look like this - muddled yet imaginative.
Set in the 80s' Kerala college scene, Zachariah Pothan (Dhyan Sreenivasan) is the leader of a self-proclaimed frat gang whose main activities are ragging, boozing, casual poontang, and other reckless things. Pothan is pompous, unscrupulous, ill-mannered, and full of himself, while his gang members - Das (Aju Varghese), Aravind (Arjun Nandakumar), Prakash (Deepak Parambol), and Devan (Yazir Saleem) - all senior-most students of the college, have successfully absorbed one or two of these qualities from him and yet have their own defining characteristics. They move around like they are having the time of their life, but things start going south when freshers, including Bhama (Prayaga Martin) and Gayathri (Gayathri Suresh), enter the college. The guys, naturally, begin to fall for these new "junior" students. In the non-linear narrative, two decades later, one of the gang members is murdered, throwing open a web of love, lies, and deceit.
Writers Deepu Nair and Sajith Jagadnandan have written a story that is interesting to watch, mostly because of the non-linear screenplay. The events that chronologically lead to the murder is exciting to watch, with police and journalistic investigations at one end and the campus life at another. The ensemble cast never disappoint, and it is mostly the nostalgic feeling that attracts you into the lives of these haughty young men and their love interests. However, there are far too many characters (with the younger and older versions of these college boys and girls) in the film which makes keep tracking of the happenings a bit difficult even for the most attentive viewer. You will find yourself memorizing the names. (Who was Prakashan? Who was Devan's girlfriend?)
How romance and enmity between people can turn them from friends to foes and can even cause deaths is the central theme of the film. Although, it will be a while before you realize that because the film has two polarizing halves.
Sreenivasan is a bit light for the heavy role that he tries to portray. Although his character is poorly written, he is the sort of anti- hero that we have been seeing in a lot of international TV shows and films lately, here where at the end you will see yourself rooting for Pothan. The rest of the cast, mainly Varghese, help bring faint humor to the otherwise grim story, and are well-directed for the most part. Chemban Jose, Renji Panicker, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Abhirami are decent in their portrayals while Sneha and Jewel Mary make extended special appearances. Overall, it is because of the talented cast and their performances that Ore Mukham becomes watchable.
The film definitely has its share of dull moments, plot holes, and improbable situations, which may put off some viewers, but if you observe closely and learn to appreciate the good parts, you will understand why it is one of the few underrated Malayalam films of 2016. It has a different tone to it, which will make the experience worthwhile.
BOTTOM LINE: Sajith Jagadnandan's "Ore Mukham" is an experimental crime thriller which talks about friendship, love, and deceit with the added dash of altruism sitting there like a sore thumb. Watch it once if your friend has rented the DVD.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
