Olu

Olu Story: Vasu, a struggling painter, finds his muse in Maya, the spirit of a gangraped gypsy girl who 'lives' underwater. Her prayers and meditation give him the power to harvest his art, but will it keep him away from wordly vices.

Olu Review: Ace filmmaker Shaji N Karun is an acclaimed name in the arthouse cinema circuits. His latest outing Olu is also one more feather in what is commonly called 'award movies'. Late M J Radhakrishnan, who cranked the lens for Olu, has hence bagged the National award for best cinematography for this film. Shane Nigam leads in this movie at the cusp of his cinematic career, after being recognised for his performance in slice-of-life cinemas like Kumbalangi Nights and Ishq.

Vasu, a struggling painter borne down by the burden of his ancestral myths, is the successor of the caretakers of a temple dedicated to a meditative feminine spirit waiting for her loved one. Maya, a gypsy girl who is molested and dumped into the water finds herself attached to this benign spirit. Though Vasu and Maya's platonic relationship awakens the artist in him, will it be enough for the wordly Vasu?

Olu (Her) is about the sacred feminine spirit, a symbol of love and purity. The movie penned by TD Ramakrishnan puts emphasis on virtue, vice, love and purity. It revolves around motifs of myths and folklores that find their roots in the grand old frictions between Hinduism and Buddhism.

Shane Nigam is in his element. His portrayal of a dissalusioned artist is in keeping with our sensibilities. Esther Anil, who portrays Maya is literally swamped in CG and that does hamper the narrative flow. Kani Kusruthi gives a compelling performance inspite of hers being a poorly crafted character. Olu is also minimal in music.

However, the movie under-utilises the myths and motifs. At places a few characters seem aggregated and over dramatic. Garish makeup and grammatically carved out sentences for many characters also doesn't help.

With no space for comedy or everyday references, Olu is what they call an arthouse cinema. But sadly it even as an arthouse cinema it holds back on emotions and focuses on computer generated graphics that the fantasy elements demand of it. However, Olu is watchable with the patience one reserves only for arthouse cinemas, but nothing else.