We’ve seen R Parthiban take up the mantle of writer, director, producer and actor. He even stars in his own films. But, this film has surpassed all his other attempts a tad bit more. No, the story isn’t new but he manages to keep you engrossed whilst maintaining suspense throughout Oththa Seruppu Size 7, as the only character seen on screen. This is an entertainer backed by emotions.
Masilamani (Parthiban) has been arrested by the police for allegedly murdering a big shot. They bring him to the station and decide to question him based on the CCTV footage found at the place of crime. He is seen to have an invisible family, good-looking Usha (wife) and physically challenged Mahesh (son).
We see no character other than Parthiban throughout the film but he doesn’t make you turn away from the screen. His casual fits of humour even in the most serious instances add to the mood of the film. No instance that allows him to take a jibe at society or the police interrogating him is left untouched. He talks about how money leads to all of life’s problems. (He even goes on to break a wall-hanging of Mahatma Gandhi at the police station).
Recommended
The sound design is the life of this movie. Resul Pookutty’s brilliance with the character’s voices and ambience effects, offer the audience a new perspective. We want to believe that those characters are all around Parthiban. Each character’s voice conveys their personality and makes us form opinions about them without even witnessing them. At some point, I wanted to get a glimpse of Saami, Venky (Police Officers) and Dr Surya (Psychiatrist). Even when Masi was solo-enacting scenes from his life the presence of the people he’s talking about is felt. There’s even a shift in Masi’s voice’s tonal quality when the perspective moves into a monitor room.
The screenplay like Masi has some flaws. While the first half entirely keeps you glued to the seat, the second half brings your enthusiasm down till the pre-climax. The lack of emotion in Parthiban’s performance is to blame for for this.
Cinematographer Ramji’s done a great job with using different angles and shots to keep the screenplay moving. Since there is only one character to focus on, he makes the most of the properties available and presents Parthiban differently. Editor R Sudharsan too manages to make the one-location movie intriguing despite the lack of breathtaking visuals.
Amidst unimpressive movies that cast several striking actors comes an experimental film that passes with flying colours. Oththa Seruppu Size 7 is an entertainer based entirely on emotions.
The Oththa Seruppu review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.