Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira Review

If you look at the approach Althaf Salim had towards the movie Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela, he made this extremely bold move of presenting a very sensitive topic of cancer treatment extensively using black humor. When the trailer of Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira was released, many felt it was underwhelming, and it was far too chaotic. Considering what Althaf Salim has achieved with his first film, the overall output of Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira is slightly underwhelming. However, it is not like he did it without any structure or proper idea. By blending dark humor and madcap comedy, Althaf is trying to address depression. While the humor is really working in favor of the movie, the elaborateness of the Story is making it a bit exhausting.

Aby, a young man who works in a furniture showroom, is our hero. He fell in love with Nidhi, and long Story short, they are about to get married. A day before the wedding, Nidhi had a dream and asked Aby whether he could come on a horse for the wedding. How the execution of that plan changes the life of Aby is what we see in Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira.

The kind of madness we saw in the trailer was a bit too much, and it almost felt like Althaf completely ignored the subtle side of his dark comedy. Since most of the main characters in this movie are dealing with some kind of mental health issue, this Story could have easily been something about people with different kinds of emotional struggles supporting each other. But Althaf, being Althaf, he uses our hero as the narrator of the Story, and hence this union of depressive minds starts to feel like a madcap entertainer. Before the third act, we can see the movie having these Dutch angle shots and fast cuts. The reason why the movie feels unnecessarily eccentric in those areas is that it is narrating things from the hero’s perspective.

The humor we see in the first half of the movie, featuring Fahadh, Kalyani, and Anuraj, has the vibe we felt while watching Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela. The dialogue-humor and the fast-paced replies, etc., are making most of the portions in that part of the movie really hilarious. The unevenness is actually there when the film goes into the second track, featuring a character named Revathy. We do realize at a later stage that there is a reason why our hero was dragged into that track. However, Althaf’s affection for madness sometimes goes overboard, and maybe because of that, the moment of realization didn’t land with the expected cinematic high or clarity.

In Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela, the real Story was concealed under the cover of a dysfunctional family drama. Here, Althaf is trying to present the impact of depression. But he packages it as a romantic comedy we see in Bollywood with a lot of vibrance, and back and forths. Almost every scene in this movie, be it the couple splitting up, meeting new people, patching up, the motivation of the father, the tragedy of losing someone, the happiness of finding someone, etc., is all there in this movie. But Althaf treats all those tracks with his signature spoofy dark humor.
Jinto George’s frames are mostly on the static side, while the cuts this time have a sense of agility, largely because of the nature of the narrative. The music complements the kind of energy the movie demands, and it has a unique feel to its credit.

In humor-heavy characters, Fahadh Faasil uses a certain kind of voice modulation to take the character to a different zone. Even though it has that repetitive feel, it is fun to see him speaking in that style. When it comes to Aby from Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira, in certain scenes, especially the Bangalore ones, he uses that voice in a very evident manner, and at times it felt a bit odd. Like I said, Althaf is trying to address the mental health issue in this movie, but with no obvious emphasis, and Fahadh’s way of showing the trauma response was actually good. Kalyani Priyadarshan as Nidhi doesn’t really have much of a challenge here, as the duty is to be that cute and bubbly girl. I really enjoyed Sayanora’s dubbing for Kalyani in Lokah. But when it comes to louder bits in Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira, there is a slight mismatch in energy. Kota Factory fame Revathy Pillai is playing an important character in the movie, and she did her part neatly. Lal’s self-trolling daddy character was fun to watch. Vinay Forrt’s character in the film is an interesting one, but somewhere it gets lost in the crowd. Anuraj OB gets a memorable character alongside Fahadh in this movie, and he also shares additional screenplay credit.

Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira is one risky film for both the makers and the audience. I have laughed out loud at multiple points in this movie because they are treating scenes in an extremely unconventional manner. At the same time, this unconventional method is making certain parts of the movie feel like they got overcooked. If you have thoroughly enjoyed the treatment of Althaf Salim’s first film, this one would feel like a bearable experiment with some memorable humor here and there.