ODUM KUTHIRA CHAADUM KUTHIRA, THE LATEST MALAYALAM-LANGUAGE FILM DIRECTED BY ALTHAF SALIM, STARS THE EVER-VERSATILE FAHADH FAASIL ALONGSIDE KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN AND REVATHI PILLAI. RELEASED IN AUGUST 2025 AND NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX, THE FILM PROMISED A QUIRKY, OFFBEAT COMEDY WITH EMOTIONAL UNDERTONES. HOWEVER, WHAT UNFOLDS IS A CHAOTIC BLEND OF ABSURDISM AND MISPLACED HUMOR THAT LEAVES AUDIENCES MORE PUZZLED THAN ENTERTAINED. IS THIS A BOLD EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG OR A MISUNDERSTOOD SATIRE? LET’S DIVE IN.
PLOT OVERVIEW
THE STORY FOLLOWS ABY (FAHADH FAASIL), A SOCIALLY AWKWARD MAN NAVIGATING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES WITH A MIX OF DELUSION AND MISPLACED CONFIDENCE. HE’S INTRODUCED ON THE BRINK OF MARRYING NIDHI (KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN), BUT THINGS SPIRAL INTO A SERIES OF BIZARRE EPISODES INVOLVING MISTAKEN IDENTITIES, PHILOSOPHICAL MUSINGS, AND SURREAL ENCOUNTERS. ALONG THE WAY, HE MEETS REVATHY DIVAKAR (REVATHI PILLAI), A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER WHOM HE MISJUDGES TO BE SUICIDAL, LEADING TO A STRING OF AWKWARD AND CONFUSING EVENTS.
THE FILM ATTEMPTS TO EXPLORE THEMES OF EXISTENTIAL CONFUSION AND EMOTIONAL DETACHMENT THROUGH ABY’S ERRATIC JOURNEY. HOWEVER, THE NARRATIVE LACKS COHESION, AND THE TRANSITIONS BETWEEN SCENES FEEL ABRUPT AND DISJOINTED. WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A POIGNANT EXPLORATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND IDENTITY ENDS UP AS A MUDDLED SERIES OF VIGNETTES.
PERFORMANCES
FAHADH FAASIL, KNOWN FOR HIS NUANCED PORTRAYALS, SEEMS TO BE ON AUTOPILOT HERE. HIS PORTRAYAL OF ABY IS ECCENTRIC BUT LACKS THE EMOTIONAL DEPTH WE’VE COME TO EXPECT FROM HIM. HIS COMIC TIMING FEELS FORCED, AND THE CHARACTER’S QUIRKS COME OFF AS ANNOYING RATHER THAN ENDEARING.
KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN AS NIDHI IS UNDERUTILIZED. DESPITE HER RECENT SUCCESSES, HER CHARACTER HERE FEELS ONE-DIMENSIONAL AND LACKS AGENCY. REVATHI PILLAI, HOWEVER, BRINGS A REFRESHING PRESENCE. HER PORTRAYAL OF REVATHY DIVAKAR IS SUBTLE AND GROUNDED, OFFERING BRIEF MOMENTS OF SINCERITY IN AN OTHERWISE CHAOTIC NARRATIVE.
DIRECTION AND SCREENPLAY
DIRECTOR ALTHAF SALIM, WHO IMPRESSED WITH HIS DEBUT NJANDUKALUDE NATTIL ORIDAVELA, SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN A BOLD BUT MISGUIDED LEAP WITH THIS FILM. THE SCREENPLAY IS RIDDLED WITH INCONSISTENCIES, AND THE PACING IS UNEVEN. WHILE THE INTENT TO BLEND HUMOR WITH EXISTENTIAL THEMES IS EVIDENT, THE EXECUTION FALTERS.
SCENES OFTEN FEEL LIKE STANDALONE SKETCHES RATHER THAN PARTS OF A COHESIVE WHOLE. THE DIALOGUES, THOUGH OCCASIONALLY WITTY, LACK THE PUNCH TO SUSTAIN INTEREST OVER THE FILM’S 2.5-HOUR RUNTIME.
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND VISUALS
VISUALLY, THE FILM HAS ITS MOMENTS. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY BY SHYJU KHALID CAPTURES THE URBAN CHAOS OF BENGALURU AND THE QUIET MELANCHOLY OF ABY’S INNER WORLD WITH FINESSE. THE USE OF COLOR AND LIGHTING REFLECTS THE PROTAGONIST’S SHIFTING MENTAL STATE, WITH MUTED TONES GIVING WAY TO VIBRANT HUES DURING MOMENTS OF CLARITY.
HOWEVER, THE VISUAL STORYTELLING IS OFTEN UNDERMINED BY THE ERRATIC NARRATIVE. SOME SCENES, LIKE THE DREAM SEQUENCES AND SURREAL INTERLUDES, ARE VISUALLY STRIKING BUT FEEL DISCONNECTED FROM THE PLOT.
MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN
THE BACKGROUND SCORE BY JUSTIN VARGHESE COMPLEMENTS THE FILM’S QUIRKY TONE BUT DOESN’T LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION. THE SONGS ARE FORGETTABLE, AND THEIR PLACEMENT FEELS MORE LIKE FILLER THAN NARRATIVE ENHANCERS. SOUND DESIGN IS COMPETENT, WITH AMBIENT NOISES AND CITYSCAPES ADDING TEXTURE, BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO ELEVATE THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE.
THEMES AND SYMBOLISM
ODUM KUTHIRA CHAADUM KUTHIRA ATTEMPTS TO TACKLE THEMES OF IDENTITY, MENTAL HEALTH, AND SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS THROUGH AN ABSURDIST LENS. ABY’S JOURNEY IS SYMBOLIC OF A GENERATION GRAPPLING WITH PURPOSE AND CONNECTION IN AN INCREASINGLY CHAOTIC WORLD.
HOWEVER, THE FILM’S SYMBOLISM OFTEN FEELS HEAVY-HANDED OR LOST IN TRANSLATION. THE METAPHOR OF THE “RUNNING AND JUMPING HORSE” (AS THE TITLE SUGGESTS) IS NEVER FULLY REALIZED, LEAVING VIEWERS TO PIECE TOGETHER MEANING FROM A FRAGMENTED NARRATIVE.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
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FINAL VERDICT
ODUM KUTHIRA CHAADUM KUTHIRA IS A FILM THAT DARES TO BE DIFFERENT BUT STUMBLES IN ITS EXECUTION. WHILE IT OFFERS GLIMPSES OF BRILLIANCE AND ATTEMPTS TO CHALLENGE CONVENTIONAL STORYTELLING, IT ULTIMATELY FAILS TO CONNECT EMOTIONALLY OR NARRATIVELY. FAHADH FAASIL’S STAR POWER ISN’T ENOUGH TO SAVE THIS OFFBEAT EXPERIMENT FROM BECOMING A FORGETTABLE MISFIRE.
RATING√ ★★☆☆☆ {2√5}
