ORU KAL ORU KANNADI is a LAUGHATHON!!!

by Bharath Vijayakumar

Director Rajesh has done it again. OKOK (Oru Kal Oru Kannadi) is another version of his earlier two films – SMS(Siva Manasula Sakthi) and BEB(Boss Engira Bhaskaran). But surprisingly it does manage to keep us entertained, at least for the most part.

You got to hand it to Rajesh. It surely takes tremendous guts to make a movie that has a wafer thin storyline and which depends solely on the lead comedian. And when Santhanam is in top form you are in safe ground most of the time. The plot of OKOK is just an excuse to throw a volley of comical one-liners at you. And the timing of Santhanam makes the movie click with the audience.

Cast

Udhayanidhi who made a guest appearance in Aadhavan debuts as the hero and he does a decent job at it. He does not seem to be out of place and his chemistry with Santhanam is quite enjoyable. Hansika is pleasant on the eye but has very little to do. We are at a time when the audience cheer as soon as Santhanam's name appears in the opening credits. OKOK is another successful outing for this comedian. He surely knows the pulse of the movie going younger generation and has delivered again in OKOK. The flight sequence and the translation he does in the climax keep us in stitches. The track involving Udhayanidhi's parents is actually quite silly. But the performance of Saranya and Azhagamperumal somehow camouflages this. OKOK is another example of Saranya's versatility.

Technical Crew

Harris Jeyaraj comes up with catchy tunes yet again. The formula for a chartbuster seems to be quite simple these days -- have simple lyrics that degrade the female gender and blame them solely for love breakups. Couple this with a peppy tune and you have a winner in hand. First it was "Kadhal yen kadhal". Then came "Kolaveri di". Now it is "Venam machaan venam". One is not sure if this is a healthy trend but the youths seem to be lapping it up. Balasubramanian's frames are colourful and in sync with the mood of the film.

Bottomline

The film is a tad too long with a running time close to three hours. This is even more surprising, considering the fact that no story is being narrated on the screen. But this seems to be Rajesh's brand of film making and he does keep the proceedings lively almost every time. OKOK is definitely not classical cinema. But it is cinema that delivers almost entirely what it had promised and it seems to be a sure shot hat trick for Rajesh. You can definitely take this ride. You will either enjoy it completely or at least in parts. But you won’t be disappointed.