Oru Kuprasidha Payyan: An engaging crime drama backed ably by good performances

Oru Kuprasidha Payyan: An engaging crime drama backed ably by good performances

Oru Kuprasidha Payyan, the latest film starring Tovino Thomas has hit screens today. Madhupal has directed the movie which also has Saranya Ponvannan, Nimisha Sajayan, Anu Sithara and Nedumudi Venu in major roles. Here’s the review in detail.

Ajayan (Tovino Thomas) is a naive youngster who earns his living by working in a hotel. An orphan, Ajayan yearns for love and care. He finds solace in the care of Chembammal (Saranya Ponvannan), a middle-aged Tamil woman who supplies food items to the hotel where Ajayan works. One fine day, a gruesome incident occurs in their locality and Ajayan is wrongly framed in the case. Whether justice is served for a vulnerable youngster like Ajayan is what the movie discusses.

Jeevan Job Thomas has scripted the movie based on some real life incidents. The screenplay follows a routine path with the regular establishment of characters followed by the conflict. Things speed up once the investigation part sets in. We are shown how our police system operates to wrongly frame an individual. With the arrival of a set of new characters, the second half becomes an absorbing court-room drama.

Like his earlier films, ‘Thalappavu’ and ‘Ozhimuri’, director Madhupal has discussed many relevant topics here as well. Islamophobia, gender issues in work place,ill effects of casteism and sexual abuse are some of them. With proper conviction, the director has cared not to spoon-feed the audience. By providing enough cues, the makers have left some crucial portions to the audience’s imagination.

Coming to the performances, Tovino has done his part well. Though he looked out of place in the initial few portions, he gradually gets into the character and brings his emotional side to the table. The shy body language and minimal dialogues lend more authenticity to his performance. Nimisha Sajayan is perhaps the best performer among the solid cast. Her character Hanna Elizabeth is a representative of the working class women who strive hard to make a mark in a male dominated profession. The character arc is convincingly brought on-screen with Nimisha showing a good range of emotions. Despite sharing most of her screen space with veterans like Nedumudi Venu and Siddique, the young actress manages to stand out. Her earnest act in the final few moments is a delight to watch. Saranya Ponvannan also has a well sketched character and needless to say, the actress has delivered her best. Anu Sithara, Balu Varghese and Suresh Kumar are the other notable performers.

Ouseppachan has composed a couple of good songs and his background score works well to incite the tension. With a run-time of nearly 150 minutes, we get a feel that a few portions could have been trimmed, like the jail fight sequence, which seems to be added for commercial purpose.

Overall, Oru Kuprasidha Payyan is a crime drama that engages despite following the conventional path. By addressing some important issues in the society, the makers have neatly presented their progressive politics as well. Tovino Thomas can be proud of carefully picking such good films.