Oththa Seruppu Size 7 Movie Review

The trailer, the promos, the song and the concept in itself were more than enough to draw my attention to Oththa Seruppu Size 7, which definitely did seem like a one-of-its-kind attempt in cinema. I had a lot of different questions on my mind before walking in to watch the film – Would I be able to bear Parthiban for 2 hours? What kind of a story is he going to tell? Would it be too arthouse (not my type)? Would I be looking at my phone quite often during the film? But little did I know that Radhakrishnan Parthiban and his little team of specialists in their own field would bring out a spectacular film that took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and made the ride worthwhile. Without second thought, Oththa Seruppu Size 7 is an important, interesting and intellectual offering from the director, who evolves in the right direction, giving us an experience to go wow at.

There have been quite a few films made in this category, which have all explored more of emotional and situational angles, but Oththa Seruppu Size 7 decides to bring in an enticing murder mystery into the story, which makes it all the more interesting to watch. Parthiban is introduced to us as Masilamani, a murderer who madly loves both his wife and son, but has committed a certain number of murders in a similar fashion. Masilamani appears to be a smart and comic storyteller at first, a gory killer next, an emotional father, a loving husband and a lot more – all in one. The film traces his story as we watch him explain his delicate situation and the episodes behind the murders, keeping the focus only on one man and having all the characters such as the interrogating officer, the angry cop, the psychologist (Masilamani calls her a cyclogist – wordplay), Masilamani’s son, his wife and others only through their voices. The film gets better and tighter with every passing scene, leading to the extremely well-written and performed climax segment which is a huge win. The writer in Parthiban pulls out his trump cards at the right moments, and though they may not entirely translate onto the screen, they work beautifully in the context of the film. There is also a good amount of Parthiban’s trademark wordplay in the proceedings, which lightens the mood and does not make it too monotonous.

It is indeed a beastly performance from Parthiban, who takes the role by the horns and smashes his everything into it. Such a performance proves why an actor of his caliber shouldn’t just be stuck to supporting characters, and should go the long hop to better grounds. 

At many places in the film, Parthiban recites pages and pages of dialogue with consummate ease, in shots and stretches that go on for 4-5 minutes each. With this performance, Parthiban has given himself another strong shot at the awards, and he should be taking home at least one – writer, director or actor.

Ramji’s camera is yet another asset to the film. Look at the challenge of having an entire film shot inside a single room, with props such as tables, broken chairs, a water can, wall-hangings, tube-lights and fans being the only sources of attraction apart from the blueish green paint. The specialist has once again proven his worth with a splendid output that doesn’t let you lose your attention easily. On the other hand is the outstanding sound design by Resul Pookutty that is perfect to the T – even little sounds of a bag being opened or a page being flipped go right into your earlobes with surreal clarity. Sathya’s background score is smart enough to understand the incidents onscreen, and complements it right.

Oththa Seruppu Size 7 delivers on most fronts, turning out to be a very peculiar experience that makes it one of the best films to hit the marquee this year. Parthiban has managed to take up a risky concept, play around with it in numerous ways, and come out with an end product that keeps us pinned and also has the ‘twist’ that the average moviegoer loves to get hands on. An achievement, for sure. Oththa Seruppu Size 7 Review by Siddarth Srinivas

Oththa Seruppu Size 7 Movie Review Rating: 4/5

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