Movie review 'Oru Second Class Yatra: There is novelty in the theme of the film

Directors: Jexson Antony and Rejis Antony

Cast: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Chemban Vinod, Nedumudi Venu, Nikki Galrani, Sreejith Ravi, Joju George

Rating: 3 stars

There are criminals who are behind bars and criminals who roam free. Often, the ones who masquerade as gentlemen turn out to be more mean and merciless than those who are forced to take extreme steps because of circumstances.

In Oru Second Class Yathra, by debutants Jexson Antony and Rejis Antony, Vineeth Sreenivasan plays the ‘more sinned against than sinning’ citizen while veteran Nedumudi Venu acts as the smiling, scheming, philandering villain. Venu’s is just a little more than a cameo but only a Kathakali artiste could have portrayed the lustful predator’s moods any better.

Chemban Vinod is the coolest one; he comes as the amiable thief and handcuff companion of Vineeth. The two jailbirds are being transported from Kannur to the capital by a khakhi duo and the story develops and unfolds during the course of that train journey. Sreejith Ravi and Joju George play the cops who are at each other’s throats since their police academy days. They are a study in contrast but become unlikely allies as one of the accused give the slip. Luckily for the cops, the other one uses his criminal brain to help them track the one who went missing.

By the time much of the story is told through flashbacks, we near the climax. The last scenes are certainly pulsating but the initial ones that are used mainly for character building are sedate. Yes, Vineeth is youthful but it is a bit of a stretch to watch him do high school romance in the beginning.

Our state has been in the news for a series of chilling sex crimes. Often, it is the close relatives or family members of the victims who have been the prime offenders. Not many movies have been, however, made on this theme and hence there is novelty. But as said before, real action starts a little late.

The adorable thief, on the other hand, is a familiar theme in Mollywood and Chemban joins an illustrious array of actors who have done this with aplomb. There sure is something endearing about a petty, fun-loving thief, at least on screen.

The story is more about characters than scenes and the jokes could have done with some more punch. But the effort is not wasted and some may say they were reminded somewhat of the much-discussed climax of the blockbuster Drishyam.