Balaji Tharaneetharan's long delayed film Oru Pakka Kathai has finally been released on the over-the-top platform Zee5. The title translates to 'one page story', referencing his debut film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom which means 'a few pages are missing in between'. There was Seethakathi between these two films – and while there is nothing about pages in that title, all three films revolve around bizarre events and how people grapple with them.
Naduvula was about a man who suffers from temporary memory loss right before his wedding. Seethakathi was about a veteran actor whose spirit can possess others and make them exhibit his talent for histrionics. Oru Pakka Kathai meanwhile is about a young woman who gets pregnant while still being a virgin. Perhaps it is only appropriate that the film should release on Christmas day!
Saravanan (Kalidas) and Meera (Megha Akash) are in college. Their parents know of their relationship and have given their blessings for the couple to get married later. But when Meera shows signs of pregnancy and the couple insist that they've not had sex, it turns their world upside down. It's a unique premise and Balaji gives us very believable middle-class parents who are horror-struck by what has happened, but make their peace with it without too much bluster. His characters are mild, well-meaning people who may take a misstep now and then, but are, at the end of the day, kind and generous. The background score by Govind Vasantha also helps in creating this gentle atmosphere.
Kalidas and Megha look visibly younger than their current selves, and as a young couple, they, too, are mild and well-meaning people. In fact, everyone is so mild and well-meaning in the film that I was wondering where the conflict is going to come from. I was hoping Meera would have an opinion about what has happened to her body but she's just as delighted as everyone else that she's become pregnant without her consent or even knowledge. The film is told from such a firmly male perspective that abortion is instantly demonised and the only thing everyone seems to be concerned about is that Meera's virginity is intact. Can her already weak body take a pregnancy, what will happen to her college course, her career? Nobody cares.
Watch: Trailer of Oru Pakka Kathai
The premise offers so many possibilities and Balaji hints at a few – would we need men in a world where women can self-reproduce? – but he stops well short of taking the plunge into any of them. His first film had a lot of repetitive scenes and dialogues but the premise – of a man who just can't remember – demanded it. The same trick didn't quite work in Seethakathi, and Oru Pakka Kathai, too, tends to drag as the characters (even if they are likable) do the same things again and again. Balaji attempts to take on superstition and religious cults in the second half but there isn't much drama packed in these situations.
The subplot about a young kid who believes he is god is amusing, and Balaji ties this in with what happens in the main plot. All the child actors who appear in the film are, in fact, good performers. But though this ending makes a point about the film's philosophy, it fails to pack a punch, thanks to the slow pace and predictable sequences in the second half. Oru Pakka Kathai, despite the fresh ideas, ends up looking like a one-page story that was dragged on for too long.
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