Jannal Oram  Review -  A Pedestrian  View

Bharath Vijayakumar

Karu Pazhaniappan made an impressive debut with Parthiban Kanavu. His latest offering Jannal Oram is the remake of the successful Malayalam film 'Ordinary'. Does the view from the window-side offer a pleasant viewing? Read on to find.

Plot:

It tracks a particular period in the lives of few people who use the Government bus that travels from Pazhani to a nearby town. The driver (Parthiban) and conductor (Vimal) get close to the inhabitants of the town. An unexpected accident and death follows. Jannal Oram then treads a serious path to reveal certain hidden truths.

Cast:

Parthiban with his  slang  shines as the loud mouthed bus driver who hides his personal sorrows within himself. Vimal is at ease as he is always when he portrays a youngster from a smaller town. There is huge cast that includes Poorna, Manisha Yadav, Ramana, Viddharth, Rajesh, Singham Puli and so on. All of them are adequate.

Jannal Oram gives a feel as though we are watching a drama flick from the 90s. Everything about the film including the way the scenes and songs are picturised and the way the situations unfold easily throws us a decade back.The first half is a little tedious with scenes that are so cliche. The Vimal - Manisha Yadav romantic track is uninspiring. The comedy works out at very few places. The songs act as speed-breakers in a journey that is already moving at a leisurely pace.  The twist before the interval and the serious happenings in the second half even though quite melodramatic and cliche manage to salvage the film to a great extent. A love obsessed psychic playing the villain is not something entirely new. But the suspense is maintained reasonably well.

Bottomline:

Jannal Oram might work at the rural centres. It is a decent watch with a mediocre first half and an eventful second half. 

Rating : 2.5/5

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