OOZHAM Trailer: Revenge Has Many Faces

Before Malayalam director Jeethu Joseph directed Drishyam, the blockbuster family drama that went on to be remade in several other Indian languages, he created the thriller Memories, starring Prithviraj as an alcoholic police officer who takes up a parallel investigation into a series of strange murders.  It released a few months before Drishyam, was decently reviewed, and in no way predicted the amazing success of the latter film.

And yet -- and I know I'm in the minority here -- I much preferred Memories to the blockbuster Drishyam, for a number of reasons, including the fact that Prithviraj's performance as the broken, alcoholic Sam Alex was incredibly interesting, especially as he was drawn into the mystery and the attempt to resolve it.

So I'm actually really pleased to see director Jeethu Joseph and actor Prithviraj team up again for what has been described as a family revenge drama -- the only mystery or thriller part of the film is, apparently, set up and knocked down in the film's opening moments.  Prithviraj plays Surya Krishnamurty, who returns home after working abroad in the United States, and the film traces the events that happen to him and his family after his return.

As is typical for Malayalam cinema, the supporting cast looks stellar, and includes newcomer Rasna Pavithram, as well as Balachandra Menon, Kishor Satya, Irshad and Neeraj Madhav (who played the role of Georgekutty’s assistant in Drishyam, and who also had a small role in Memories).

Oozham is currently scheduled to release on September 8^th, 2016, just ahead of the Onam festival, a popular movie season in the state of Kerala.  It will also be released outside of the state in India as well as abroad (Australian screenings are already scheduled starting September 18th) with English subtitles.