
Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Oru Jaathi Jaathakam attempts to convey a progressive message on finding a compatible life partner, but the makers take a terribly bumpy route to drag through to the destination. Why would the supposed progressiveness in the end matter if 3/4th of the film stinks with obnoxious ‘jokes’ that leave a poor aftertaste? The damage is already done.
Vineeth Sreenivasan plays Mambrath Jayesh, a man in his late 30s, who has been desperate to get married for the last eight years. Right from his intro scene where he has a dream of his marriage getting called off, we see Jayesh frustrated and sulking about finding the ‘perfect’ life partner. Settled in Chennai (yes, Vineeth Sreenivasan), Jayesh visits his hometown every week in the hope of finding the right match, but his conditions are so silly that his boss often jokes, “Finding a girl who meets all your conditions is like searching for a dinosaur in the 21st century.”
A proud male chauvinist, Jayesh’s conservative demands, rigid beliefs in horoscopes, and the unrealistic beauty standards he has for a potential bride make it hard to find a suitable match. Here’s a deplorable protagonist with hardly any likeable qualities, but the film’s light-hearted treatment ensures we laugh at him rather than despise him. Vineeth Sreenivasan’s performance is also delightfully over-the-top, with the Thalassery slang adding to the fun. Most of the supporting actors are also capable of handling the quirky slang. Among them, PP Kunhikrishnan’s dialogues and performance work the best.
Though scattered, there are some genuinely funny dialogues and hilarious moments in the film’s initial half, but Rakesh Mantodi’s writing gets awful when he decides to dish out an extremely insensitive segment on homosexuality. Following a last-minute cancellation of Jayesh’s wedding, word spreads that he might be gay. The relentless ridiculing from those around him leads to a point where Jayesh himself starts suspecting his sexual orientation. If not anything else, these scenes would only help reinforce the stereotypes about the LGBTQIA+ community.
This stretch, which lasts for nearly half an hour, is abundant with derogatory homophobic remarks, including the repetitive usage of the slur ‘ku**an’. From his friends to family to locals, everyone calls him that. There’s even a sequence where Jayesh dreams of getting sexually assaulted by his boss (Babu Antony) in office. Sure, the makers can get away with saying it’s just a dream sequence intended to highlight the protagonist’s worst fears. Still, it’s evident from the way the scene has been shot and enacted that the primary objective was to elicit laughs. It is quite amusing how a much-revered artist like Vineeth Sreenivasan agreed to do such offensive humour.
Even while director M Mohanan goes for an all-out comedy treatment, there’s a satirical tone while attempting to call out the hypocrisy of people like Jayesh. However, it isn’t effectively conveyed due to the lack of a serious and sensitive approach. The treatment is so confusing that we are left wondering if the film really wants to critique or celebrate all the regressiveness. At one point, Jayesh realises the pain and embarrassment he might have caused others when women start rejecting him based on looks. But it’s disappointing that even at this stage, there’s a scene where Jayesh’s father mocks harshly at his son’s physique.
Similarly, during the redemption phase, we hardly see Jayesh owning up to his flaws. He either blames his family for raising him as a traditionalist or his equally sexist friend (Mridul Nair) for ‘influencing’ him. The film needed more moments of his introspection.
Among the slew of women with limited presence, Indu Thampy’s Pallavi, Chippy Devassy’s Merin, and Kayadu Lohar’s Payal leave an impression. Sayanora Philip also makes a mark with her fiery rebuttal in the end. In a way, all these women positively influence Jayesh in shaping up as a better person, but the writing fails to fully explore these ideas.
Oru Jaathi Jaathakam had the potential to be a compelling character study on a conservative and flawed individual, but the focus seems to be solely on turning everything into a comedy, even if it means resorting to a brand of humour that the industry has collectively been trying to run away from.
Film: Oru Jaathi Jaathakam
Director: M Mohanan
Cast: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Mridul Nair, Chippy Devassy, P P Kunhikrishnan, Indu Thampy, Babu Antony, Kayadu Lohar
Rating : 1.5/5