A cobweb, Oozham, the movie title written over it and the tag line... 'It's just a matter of time' establish the first shot and the crowd goes gaga about it. As Jeethu Joseph, the writer-director has mentioned earlier in various interviews, Oozham is a straightforward revenge drama starring Prithviraj in the lead role. If you are expecting to watch a movie with suspense, this one is not the right choice.
Oozham has a plain sailing story line without much suspense, still, the director has tried to keep the audience hookup to the story. Like his other movies Memories and Drishyam, family relationship has a great relevance in this movie and the plot goes around this. Surya (Prithviraj) who hails from Coimbatore is an expert in controlled explosion working in the USA. His dad Krishnamoorthy (Balachandra Menon), a health inspector is a sincere government servant, his mom (Sita) a homemaker and has a sister (Rasna Pavithran) and brother (Neeraj Madhav). The usual 'happy-family' background was expected and since we know that it's a revenge drama with Prithviraj in the lead role, unexpected events that occur in his family lands Surya in trouble.
Like the usual Jeethu Joseph movies, Oozham also has been treated differently, this time with a non-linear narrative. But whether it has done justice to the film is a question to be put forward. Going back and forth to the present and the past makes the movie less interesting and somehow breaks the charm as it reaches the zenith.
As an unexpected event ruins his entire family, Surya is left with no choice other than to take revenge. He goes in search for an answer to his questions and unravels the mystery surrounding it. The villain is revealed in the first half itself and the hero starts hunting down each one of his enemies. Now, what's there in the second half? Obviously, one that everybody expects- fall of the villain. The second half merely shows the technique the hero employs to avenge his enemy and follows the non-linear narrative till the end. The main intention of the hero as of now is to agitate and make the villain more tensed by bluffing with him and, in turn makes the audience more tensed. Though the trailer mentions that revenge has many faces, the movie seems to have just one face, and that's revenge alone- doesn't matter how it is done.
The movie also speaks about businessmen who are hand-in-glove with higher officials making money putting the life of the poor at stake and how the life of uncorrupt officials gets ruined in 'just a matter of time'. One could say, everything ends in a matter of time and that is what Jeethu is trying to assert in the movie. If it was villain's 'Oozham' (chance) at the beginning, the hero also gets his Oozham at the end within a matter of time. The director also tries to point out the inefficiency in the country's various administrative levels and how money can buy everything including humans.
Everything goes on smoothly till the end and like any other movie, police always arrives at the scene and stays clueless. The movie also lacks explanation to many questions that any viewer would ask. The villain's dirty business is revealed before the interval and there is no mention of it anywhere in the movie later. One could also see Prithviraj in a not too different role from that of the movie Anwar. Jeethu Joseph has chosen the right person for this character and their combination has worked out just like the movie Memories.
Rasna Pavithran, the debut actress who plays the role of Prithviraj's sister has shown justice to her character. Neeraj Madhav who plays the role of Aju has done a commendable job and stands unique in his acting without Prithviraj's shadow casting on him. Divya Pillai, Pashupathy, and Jayapraksh have also done their part well. As usual, Pashupathy always stands different with his style and his character tries to weave the story to move forward in the second half. The background music in the movie has also done justice to the excitement that an audience should feel.
Jeethu Joseph has avoided unnecessary scenes like romance and songs that would have ruined the all round feel of the movie. He has also kept the character away from too much melodrama and focuses on just one topic- revenge without going out of topic. Instead, he shows certain family values and attachments any person would love to experience and watch.
Verdict: An average revenge drama with no suspense and few twists. A one-time watch.
Onmanorama Rating: 3/5
