Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      Odiyan

      2018 2h 46m Fantasy Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 42% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Ratings A dreaded master of black magic rules the night. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (3) Critics Reviews
      Vishal Menon Film Companion It really is the director that seems to have failed Odiyan. He could have chosen to make a very personal film about the irony of such a character. He could also have made a mad action entertainer that all of us were expecting. Rated: 2/5 Dec 19, 2018 Full Review Anna M.M. Vetticad Firstpost I am not objecting here to the prejudices of Odiyan's characters, but to the director's and writer's own problematic gaze on Ravunni. Rated: 2/5 Dec 19, 2018 Full Review Sanjith Sidhardhan The Times of India Odiyan has good acting, a well thought-out script and brilliant action scenes that the family audience would enjoy. Rated: 3.5/5 Dec 19, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (4) audience reviews
      Audience Member Odiyan is an awesome movie. It's a fantasy take about the life of a black magician. A good movie yu can enjoy with family. Great perfomance from Mohanlal and other actors. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Odiyan has a good story with a weak screenplay which fails at several places and doesn't do justice to performance of Mohanlal as Odiyan Manickam. The movie is neither a Mass nor a classic as promised by its director. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member ODIYAN': A 90s Classic Made in 2018 VA Shrikumar Menon's feature film debut 'Odiyan' is all about the shapeshifting larger-than-life character Odiyan Manikyan who is portrayed by Mohanlal. Being one of the most awaited releases of the year, 'Odiyan' had a great start. But due to some issues (which would be touched upon in this review) the Lal-starrer got an array of negative comments even from his fans. The "average" spectators' main concern was regarding the director's failure at keeping his promise. He had assured that 'Odiyan' would be a mass entertainer which, however, turned out to be just a 'humble project' as Mohanlal puts it. While it is true that Menon misinformed the world about the true nature of his film, 'Odiyan' is still a well-crafted masterpiece which can boast of a unique way of storytelling (one which requires the spectator to pay keen attention throughout the run time). The overlapping timeline has been decently conceived, although, at times, it is hard to digest. The kernel of this film, without a doubt, is Mohanlal. His two year long preparations for this role have paid off. He keeps the narrative together when it falls apart at many places. It might also seem to the (above) average spectator that Manikyan is the only round character in the film which has an abundance of one-sided characters like Ravunni - the evil villain, Prabha - the compassionate aristocrat who befriends the downtrodden, Meenakshi - the innocent village belle, Damodaran Nair (Siddique) - the know-it-all tea seller, and a group of young men who are mean for no apparent reason. They resemble the antagonistic college bullies who used to be the staple in campus films of the 90s and early 2000s. This takes us to the next point. This film seems a lot like a late 20th century flick. I'm not only talking about the costumes and the setting, but also about the temperament and the fundamental nature of the characters (including Manikyan). While reading between the lines, the film has the "graceful" sexism and racism that one finds in 'Aaram Thamburan', 'Narasimham', 'Devasuram' and so on. However, one cannot say that there is a similar celebration of the hero's masculinity in 'Odiyan', since the character is not a 'Thamburan' but a Dalit. He is portrayed as the victim in many instances. Yet, his manhood is protected through 'odividhya' which was taught to him by his grandfather. Another striking and somewhat disturbing recognition is regarding the characterization of Ravunni whose villainy is often corelated to the colour of his skin. "The dark skinned man as the villain" is so twisted an idea. On a deconstructive level, however, this aspect acts as a sort of explanation or justification for his 'evil' deeds. That is, as a person who has been tormented since childhood about the colour of his skin, Ravunni has every right to act the way he does. The fact that even Odiyan Manikyan, the underdog, is fairer than him might have had a gargantuan effect upon this Nair's psyche. While paying attention to the technical aspects, it would be unjust to go about without mentioning Shaji Kumar's captivating cinematography which held the movie together when everything else fell apart at times. The visual effects and (or) CGI, on the contrary, seemed cartoony at most times. It certainly did not look suitable for a big budget film like 'Odiyan'. Peter Hein's action sequences could make a decent impact on the spectator, though it lacked the spontaneity that one finds in 'Pulimurugan' especially in the final fight scene. The frequent cuts have affected the continuity of certain moves (again, this is only the case with the climax fight sequence). The background music and other sound effects especially during 'odividhya' were blissfully thunderous. Therefore, 'Odiyan' wasn't an utter disappointment. It can be simply regarded as a film which should have been made a decade ago. Odiyan Manikyan is comparable with Mohanlal's classic characters like Kunhikkuttan (Vanaprastham) and Balan (Thazhvaram). It is just that he wasn't given much of an opportunity to showcase his acting prowess to the fullest since 'Odiyan' could not fully contain Odiyan Manikyan. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Es entretenida e interesante.7/10 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      Photos

      View All Odiyan photos

      Odiyan

      View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A dreaded master of black magic rules the night.
      Director
      V.A. Shrikumar Menon
      Screenwriter
      Hari Krishnan
      Genre
      Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      Malayalam
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $108.0K
      Runtime
      2h 46m