Oru Durooha Saahacharyathil

A precise sense of rhythm courses through the best of Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval’s works. Like a raconteur in full flow, he packs the narrative with intriguing events and funny throwaway lines that hardly cause the attention to waver. Even when some of the jokes don’t land, we remain engrossed and go with the flow. Yet, when his rhythm falters, as it does in the last act of Oru Durooha Saahacharyathil, we sense it too. Then it is just a matter of waiting for the inevitable train wreck. One of the reasons perhaps for the film going off track is its shape-shifting narrative, with the sudden turn in character in the last act not fitting well with what had transpired. It almost feels like a copout rather than something that would evolve organically from the story.