One directed by Santhosh Viswanath starring Mammootty in the lead has finally hit the theatres after a year’s wait. The film is a political thriller written by the renowned writer duo Bobby-Sanjay and has an ensemble cast including Murali Gopy, Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan, Mathew Thomas, and Salim Kumar. The film depicts the political ideologies of an ideal Chief Minister, Kadakkal Chandran played by Mammootty. Kadakkal Chandran is a beloved CM who goes out of his way for the people and has many enemies even within his party. He decides to implement ‘Right to Recall’ where citizens could bring down a political representative if they are not performing well and urge for a re-election. This creates a stir within Kerala Politics and Chandran finds hardly any support. Whether he succeeds in the implementation and the fate of his political career is the crux of the film.
It’s a one-man show
The film One is a One-Man Show, that man none other than superstar Mammootty. The role is meaty, with many applaudable dialogues and scenes that would make us wonder why we don’t have a leader like Kadakkal Chandran. The dialogues are well written, giving stress to the political scenario of the country without pointing fingers at any particular party or person. The one-man show does create an impact with a powerful and apt background score, but it also makes other characters irrelevant. Regardless of the number of artists in the film, each and everyone with equal potential, nobody gets the right screen space including the opposition leader character played by Murali Gopy. However, we understand that the film is meant to be that way – it’s different from the political thrillers we are familiar with and is not about party vs party or man vs man story. It revolves around Kadakkal Chandran and the ideal CM that he is, and it has been portrayed well.
The plot is intriguing and keeps you hooked
Though the film is all about Kadakkal Chandran, which is well performed by Mammootty, One has a plot that is really interesting and gripping. The build-up of the character Kadakkal Chandran is humungous without much ‘mass’ dialogues. The dialogues, as pointed earlier, are on point and hits you hard. The final 30 minutes, the scene in the assembly, is well made and deserves applause. However, the part where Chandran’s health issue is brought up seemed irrelevant and could have been avoided.
WATCH OR NOT
One is a must-watch film. It does not glorify any political parties but revolves around the leader that Kadakkal Chandran is. It’s a well-made film and you could happily go and watch it with your friends and family.