The opening scene of the movie shows the character of Joju George, who looks similar to his appearance in the acclaimed movie Joseph, having a heated argument with a government official over some court order. He then leaves the government office and on the way back, he breaks the flag post of the left-wing party, which is obvious from the red colour post. From then on the mood of the movie is humorous in nature, but a kind of humour that feels too forced or artificial.
Oru Thathwika Avalokanam is set against the backdrop of an imaginary village named Ramankallu, where a by-election is around the corner and all three prominent parties are gearing up for elections. Though the movie hasn’t used the real names of the political parties active in Kerala, it has used all the obvious signs to make everyone understand who is who by using the popular terminologies and symbols like red flags, ‘Khadar’, Rakhi, ‘Sakhavu’ and ‘Ji’.
The movie shows the insincere, fake and hypocritical politicians from all three major parties who are only interested in their personal gains. Though the film balances its apolitical stance by mocking all three political parties, it is clear that the director has more angst against the current ruling regime of Kerala. The usual cliché of a communist worker going to see an astrologer in the cover of night and a communist leader who fights for the rights of women in public but is a typical male chauvinist husband at home are some of the attempts at satire in the movie. The satire against BJP or RSS is limited to the usual beef comedies that have been done to death in recent Malayalam movies.
The plot of the movie is further carried forward by the character named Ananthu played by young actor Niranj Raju Pillai, son of Maniyan Pillai Raju. Ananthu is an aspiring police officer who, on his way to write the PSC exam, accidently falls prey to the fight between the workers of rival political parties. He then gives a class to the political leaders, calling out the hypocrisy of the political parties. His speech goes viral. Joju’s character uses Ananthu’s fame to plot revenge against the political leader who destroyed his life and profession in the past.
The most unbearable part of the movie is the parallel comedy plot of two idiotic terrorists who come to Kerala in order to complete a mission. The comedy falls flat and is totally irrelevant to the main plot of the movie which makes it a horrible watch.
Joju George plays Shankar, a genuine contractor who is betrayed by political parties. Joju plays the character convincingly but the absence of an engaging script plays spoilsport. Niranj Maniyan Pillai delivers a decent performance. Shammi Thilakan, Aju Varghese, Major Ravi and Jayakrishnan seemed over animated in their performance, possibly because of lack of depth in script.
Overall, the movie felt like a product of inspiration from the age old classic Sandesham, though this time the message is weak and overtly apolitical.