I watched the movie "Oram Po" this afternoon with a few friends (and their families) from work.
This movie is one hell of a fun movie. It is heavily inspired by the Hollywood race movies like Fast and Furious, though purists like Raghu abhor the very fact that I can talk of Indian movies on par with ones from Hollywood. Oram Po doesn't really aspire to be equated with F&F either, because, fundamentally, it is a fun movie whereas F&F is pure adrenalin. And the other obvious difference is the abundance of fancy cars in F&F versus the ubiquitous auto-rickshaw here.
The biggest weakness in the movie is the unnecessary interruptions in the name of songs. This is a common problem that plagues the Indian movie industry and this movie, unfortunately, is no different. There are a few glaring editing errors, continuity issues, a couple of impractical situations etc, but these can easily be ignored.
The strength - Very simple story. No heroes and villains, more of protagonists and antagonists. And my favorite part was that it was in full Chennai Senthamizh. "pakka local pilimu machi". The antagonist named "Son of Gun" simply rocks. The character hails from Thuthukudi and his dialogue delivery is outstanding. Credit must be given to the script writer for the fantastic lines given to this character.
Another thing I liked and most probably something that the women might detest, was the usage of unparliamentary words. While the censors have objected to the obvious ones, they have let go quite a few others which fall under the gray area.
The protagonist played by Arya, is probably the most sophisticated looking auto driver in all of the world. His acting doesn't impress me. But that's not the case with Pooja, who in a daring role (the dare was not using make-up) has come out on top (if you've seen the movie, then you will appreciate the intended pun).
I was literally ROTFL in the first half. The film did sag in the middle, mainly due to the unnecessary songs I mentioned earlier. There was one song just after the intermission which I think was included only to allow those who had gone out to grab snacks, to stand in the long que at the food stall, collect the snacks, return to their seat and then wait for the movie to actually proceed. For those who stayed back in the theatre, it was a very embarrassing song to watch especially when you have the mother-in-law of your colleague sitting two seats from yours.
From a story perspective, its that of an irresponsible auto driver, Arya, trying to make a fast buck by racing fellow auto drivers. Unlike other movies, he is not trying to win the money to save some blood relative suffering from a disease known to the scriptwriter alone. He is trying to get the money to do away with his auto loan. He is helped by an auto mechanic friend, "Bigle", and they basically race the autos of "Son of Gun". Meanwhile, a couple of smuggled black pearls find their way into Arya's auto and the owner of the pearls is trying to locate them. In between, Arya uses Pooja for service (as mentioned in the movie) and this causes a friction between Arya and Bigle.
They ultimately patch up, but by then, they have given their valued possessions - auto and auto shed - to "Son of Gun". Finally, they decide to race SOG for an all or nothing bet. They narrowly fail to win and while clearing out Arya's auto, SOG throws out Arya's shirt to him. This shirt has those two black pearls. They go to pawn these pearls not knowing the worth. But the pawn broker gives them a hell of a lot of cash and they go away happy - in an auto with a retractable sunroof!
Anyways, I loved the movie a lot, though I cant say the same for most of the others who watched it with me. Given an opportunity, I would surely like to see it again.
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