Oru Pazhaya Bomb Kadha movie review: A comedy of errors

Cast: Bibin George, Prayaga Martin, Hareesh Perumanna, Kalabhavan Shajon, Indrans, Vijaya Raghavan
Director: Shafi

Malayalam cinema is going through a lot of changes, especially when it comes to the concept of a hero. The stereotypical hero is long gone; he doesn’t have to be a muscular, tall or blue-eyed man. Adding to the list of films that have shattered stereotypes, Oru Pazhaya Bomb Kadha presents Bibin George, a real-life polio victim. Bibin shot to fame after the success of Amar Akbar Anthony and Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan, which he scripted. The scriptwriter-turned-actor appears as hero for the first time in this romantic comedy flick.

Directed by Shafi, Oru Pazhaya Bomb Kadha tells the story of Sreekuttan’s (Bibin George) adventures. He is a handicapped person and cares a lot for his family and friends. Sreekuttan is called ‘Onnara hero’, a reference to polio that has affected one of his legs. He is a mechanic and his colleague from the workshop, Bhavyan (Hareesh Perumanna), is his confidante. Their combination is worth seeing, with Hareesh leading the show with some sharp and timely jokes. Bibin has done justice to his role and his real-life disability has ‘helped’ him in portraying the role with some sentimental moments. Hareesh was also at his best with his typical Malabar slang. The other cast members including Indrans, Prayaga Martin, Vijaya Raghavan, Harisree Ashokan, Kalabhavan Shajon, Biju Kuttan and Vishnu Unnikrishnan have played their parts well.  

The movie lacks a well-prepared script and doesn’t have an extraordinary feel to it. In the movie, parallel to the main plot, there is mention of a terrorist outfit and it continues throughout, but it isn’t relevant to the main story. In fact, there are so many fillers that are expected to make the viewers laugh. The two women from Action Hero Biju almost imitate their own characters from their earlier film. Then there is Balachandran Chullikkad as a retired don. But sadly, these are not genuine enough to make you laugh. Shajon’s merciless police officer role is also an imitation of his own role from Drishyam.

Though director Shafi took a risk by breaking the stereotype of the Malayalam hero concept and brought a physically challenged character in the lead, there is nothing special in the movie and it is below par by his own standards.