Oxygen movie review: Not a breath of fresh air

Cast: Gopichand, Raashi Khanna, Anu Emmanuel, Jagapathi Babu, Brahmaji, Kick Sham
Director:  Jyothi Krishna

 

Director Jyothi Krishna comes up with an anti-tobacco film that is woven into a revenge drama. US returnee Krishna Prasad (Gopichand) walks off an aircraft dressed in a panchakattu, and into the home of a big family lead by Raghupathi (Jagapathi Babu) whom he impresses with his Telugu culture and traditions. Jagapathi Babu's daughter Raashi Khanna is to marry Prasad, but she doesn't want to as she is not interested in going to the US. The family has a good time for much of the first half before Prasad kills Raashi's brother Kick Sham in front of her eyes. That done, he goes into flashback mode where he is actually Sanjeevi.

Jyothi Krishna's take on the illegal tobacco trade is fresh, but suffers in the narration. He takes almost the entire first half to establish his point, which could be a tad too late. There are a few interesting scenes in the second half but Krishna rushes to complete the film, whose release was delayed. A few characters are completely wasted, including that of Jagapathi Babu. The second half is interesting, but looks mechanical.  Gopichand has two shades and he does well to move between the two but he cannot expect a fresh of lease of life from Oxygen. Raashi Khanna as the village girl is just okay. Jagapathi Babu is good as Raghupathi but the character lacks punch. Brahmaji and Kick Shyam justify their presence, Ali's comedy irritates. Anu Emanuel comes in the second half as Dr Geetha.  A couple of songs by Yuvan Shankar Raja are good, some dialogues work well. The takeaway: Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.