OKOM’s primary flaw is its random and fragmented storytelling with little character development, making it difficult to invest in any of the protagonists. Rugmangadan, now an Uber driver, experiences a series of misadventures with passengers that are presented in disjointed episodes.
These scenes neither advance the plot nor contribute to character development. For example, there’s a stretch where a husband knowingly lets his wife elope, but Rugmangadan ends up safely returning her home after the plan goes awry.
Another short segment involves an elderly couple visiting their son’s house, only to find it locked, prompting them to return to their ancestral home. Rugmangadan drives them back without accepting his taxi fare. While these scenes may be intended to illustrate his virtuous nature, they come across as irrelevant distractions that slow down an already tedious film. Despite its relatively short runtime of two hours, OKOM feels overlong and underwhelming.
The second hour of the film becomes increasingly pointless, particularly with a subplot that reminds another underwhelming film, Pavi Caretaker. In OKOM’s latter half, Madhumiya and Rugmangadan share the same room, taking turns at night and day according to their work schedules.
By the time the film comes up with a plot twist and reaches its somewhat contrived happy ending, you may find yourself zoning out due to its overall inertness. To give credit where it’s due, Eldhose George’s cinematography is commendable, particularly in the way the camera pans within the confines of buildings and rooms, showcasing tight framing.
Even though the performances of Hakim, Priyamvada, and Poornima are functional enough, the characters fail to evoke empathy or make us root for them, particularly due to veteran scenarist Raghunath Paleri’s confused screenplay that suffers from a lack of focus.
Even the presence of seasoned performers like Vijayaraghavan and Janardanan feels wasted. OKOM could have been a better affair as a coming-of-age story if it had delved deeper into the protagonists’ motivations and stayed focused on its core plot, avoiding unnecessary digressions such as the redundant goon sequences.
Film: Oru Kattil Oru Muri
Director: Shanavas K Bavakutty
Cast: Hakim Shahjahan, Poornima Indrajith, Priyamvada Krishnan
Rating : 1.5/5