Paresh C Palicha reviews the Malayalam movie, Oru Small Family. Post YOUR reviews here!
Rajasenan is out with his new Malayalam film as an actor and director in Oru Small Family, a seemingly satirical look at Kerala turning into an alcoholic state with men queuing up in front of the government-run liquor shops at the break of dawn.
Vishwanathan (Rajasenan) is a middle ranked upright civil servant with a wife and a college going daughter. He's a teetotaller but as fate would have it, there is a liquor shop just opposite his house. Problems start when his wife becomes friendly with a few good-hearted customers there. She would provide them food and in return they would help in household chores.
To add to Vishwanathan woes, his daughter Amu (Ananya) is in love with Kishore (Kailash), whose family sells illicit liquor. Halfway into the story, Vishwanathan turns into an alcoholic in the most absurd manner that you can imagine, and end up in the hospital with liver cirrhosis. There are also a few others who end up in the hospital.
Since this is a satire, some humour arising out of the conflict of interests is expected. But what we get is a lazy meandering of the plot which leads nowhere.
Agreed that the scourge of alcoholism needs to be tackled in every forum possible. But getting a bunch of comedians mimicking drunkards and cracking one-liners does not seem to be a good idea. The desired impact is lost somewhere in the comic conundrum. There is even an add on issue about the abuse of camera phones. But, that too is shabbily treated.
Rajasenan does have the effervescence and charm to hold the viewers' attention in the lighter scenes but the same cannot be said when it comes to the serious stuff. And, it seems that the acting part dilutes his strength as a director. Initially he reminds us of Sreenivasan but very soon we realise that there is hardly any comparison.
The ensemble of stock comedians led by Suraj Venjaramoodu, Bheeman Raghu and others do raise a few guffaws initially but become redundant after a while. Our hearts go out for the young pair of Ananya and Kailash whose love story is believed to be pivotal to the film.
All in all, a poor attempt to tackle a socially relevant topic.
Rediff Rating: 
