Oru Jaathi Jathakam movie review: The film’s script would keep the audience engaged and even when you think it would turn predictable, the writing throws a spanner to the works.
Last Updated: 02.49 PM, Jan 31, 2025
Oru Jaathi Jathakam story: Thirty-eight-year-old and prude, Jayesh, who has his set of prejudices, is unable to find a suitable bride due to his conditions. Even when the stars align, challenges crop up in various forms – making it tougher for him to get married. Can he navigate through it all without changing his true nature and still meet his soulmate?
Oru Jaathi Jathakam review: The latest movie from director M Mohanan, who had previously helmed films such as Kathaparayumbol, Manikyakallu and Aravindante Adhithikal, is packed with one-liners – which would make you laugh out loud and also introspect at the same time. The film is about a 38-year-old man, Jayesh (Vineeth Sreenivasan), who has not been able to find a prospective bride who meets all his criteria.
Those around keep showering him with pearls of wisdom. His boss tells him, “Finding a girl who meets all his conditions is like searching for a dinosaur in the 21st century.” His broker, meanwhile, explains to him, that you cannot have a rambutan, a mango and a jackfruit from the same tree. But Jayesh, being a prude, refuses to relax his demands, making his unending quest for a bride a fruitless one.
And through these series of women who enter Jayesh’s life – albeit for brief periods, Rakesh Manthodi’s script unravels plenty of laughs and gives us a perspective of the influences that have shaped the life of the protagonist, who is a sexist. Some of these might seem trivial – and it’s hardly a wonder that someone like him doesn’t find a match. For most parts of the film, the jokes also come at the expense of the protagonist, than the women he interacts with.
Even when Jayesh becomes mistaken for a homosexual, the over-the-top nature of the film doesn’t let it portray this sensitively. Instead, the characters use derogative terms that the protagonist himself would have used at others, only to show the impact it has on him. It’s clear that Oru Jaathi Jathakam was made as an all-out comedy that was aimed at getting people to laugh at the expense of chauvinists and the societal perceptions of the LGBTQ community. Even though it tries to call out the hypocrisy of prudes, it could have been dealt with better. This is also where Oru Jaathi Jathakam falters, with the makers not quite sure how much they can push it, or if they should push it at all.
That said, the script of the film would keep the audience engaged and even when you think it would turn predictable, the writing throws a spanner to the works to take Jayesh’s life and the story to another direction.
The movie is also filled with colourful characters. Right from Jayesh’s conservative family based in North Malabar to the several women he meets while finding the one for him. Indu Thampy, as the new-gen matchmaker, Kayadu Lohar, as his North Indian neighbour, Sayonara Philip, as the matrimonial site executive who has suppressed her emotions for the sake of the client, Aishwarya Mithun Koroth, as the confused fiancée, and Chippy Devassy, as the progressive flatmate, they add the necessary fun in this comedy, which has a lot of laughs going for it. The film also has a few cameos – some of it work, some fall flat.
Vineeth also essays the character of Jayesh, with his quirks and over-the-top reactions, in line with what the film demands. Mridul Nair becomes a perfect reflection of the chauvinists in society, while Babu Antony is a riot in his comedy avatar along with PP Kunhikrishnan. Guna Balasubramanian’s songs go hand-in-hand with the tone of the film, which is framed well by Viswajith Odukkathil.
Oru Jathi Jaathakam verdict: One of the grouses of the past few years has been that there haven’t been enough comedies in Malayalam. Oru Jaathi Jathakam does offer an opportunity for the audience to laugh out loud in theatres, thanks to Vineeth’s performances and some hilarious situations that the character finds himself in.