Review: Arikil Oraal is an average entertainer

Paresh C Palicha says Arikil Oraal had a lot of potential but fizzles out by the end.

Arikil Oraal, directed by Sunil Ibrahim, is about a person who has the power to be in two different places at the same time, and then struggles to explain this in a rational way.

The film that stars Indrajith, Nivin Pauly and Remya Nambeesan, begins on a promising note with an odd trio-- Siddhu (Indrajith), Icha (Nivin Pauly) and Veena (Remya Nambeesan).

Siddu is the creative head of a prominent advertising agency. He has just been transferred to Kochi from Bengaluru. Veena is Siddhu's girlfriend and runs a contemporary dance troupe. Icha (Nivin Pauly) is Veena's friend and a waiter in an upmarket coffee shop.

When they fail to find a suitable place for Siddhu to stay, Veena suggests that he share Icha's place until he finds his own accommodation. Siddhu instantly agrees, but Icha agrees reluctantly.

The story is padded with the interactions among the main players and their attitude at the work place. Siddhu is laidback and likes to laze around with books. Icha likes to paint in his spare time and we do not get much of a character sketch of Veena.

The central point of the plot is that Veena and Siddhu start spotting Icha at the same time

in different places. Before we know it, the tale has reached its high point by the end of the first half.

In the second half we see the couple taking the help of a psychologist, Sudhir Bose (Prathap Pothen, playing a version of the famed Dr Sunny Joseph of Manichitrathazhu), who checks and treats people without any medical aid.

Sunil Ibrahim who made a promising début with Chapters last year, fails to deliver the same punch here. Something is amiss here apart from originality.

We cannot blame the actors for that. Nivin Pauly as the quirky and temperamental Icha tries to give credibility to the character that was supposed to be the pivot of this film.

Indrajith is subtlety personified. His character Siddhu has to be funny one moment and petrified the next and Indrajith rarely goes out of control.

Remya Nambeesan has to be the bridge between the two male co-stars and she seems to be fine with that. The same cannot be said about the other female star, Lena, who appears as Siddhu's boss. She grew up with strong feminist leanings and now doubts whether it was the right path. Still, her character seems inconsequential to the story as a whole. Arikil Oraal, which held out a lot of promise to begin with, ends up being strictly average by the end.

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