Movie Review: Oh Butterfly

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Gauri ( Nivethitha Sathish) is married to Arjun (Attul). But one day,  her ex boyfriend Suriya (Ciby Chandran) re-enters her life when Arjun brings him (as his old college senior), home to their hill station farmhouse. When Arjun learns Surya is a venture capitalist he invites him to stay in their home, as he wants him to invest in his start-up.


From then on begins a cat and mouse game. Gauri wants Surya to leave as she is afraid of the truth coming out.  But Surya has other ideas and nothing goes according to plan. 

What happens next? Does the past catch up with the present? How does it affect their future?

The film is based on an intriguing concept, that of the juxtaposition of the  powers of destiny and free will. To this end the director has woven an intricate tale with various characters  following a non -linear narration so as to keep the suspense strong and the viewer hooked.

The film does succeed in achieving these goals, but the lengthy dialogues, that too in closed spaces, between 3 primary characters,  for a large chunk of time, demand patience. Some of the interchanges feel juvenile and situations contrived while giving off a school play vibe at times.  It's tough to connect to these characters and be invested in  their past or their problems.

The portions of the second half add more drama and the camera moving outdoors adds a breath of fresh air to the proceedings. There seems to be a lot of philosophising and the Laxmipriya character's know-it-all dialogues seem a tad too much to take in after a while. 

However, the film successfully  justifies its title, presumably referring to the butterfly effect. The climax portions are gripping.

The camerawork is a huge plus for the film. Actor Nasser's presence adds value. 

Nivedhithaa delivers a solid act while Ciby Chandran  and Attul fit their roles and perform well.

Overall, a suspsense -filled love triangle with angst ridden moments juxtaposed with self doubt, half truths, confusion, guilt, reflection and more,  Oh Butterfly makes for an interesting watch. 


CAST
Nivedhithaa Sathish
Ciby Chandran
Attul
Nassar
Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli
Geetha Kailasam

TECHNICAL CREW
Writer & Director: Vijay Ranganathan
Producers: Venkky, Anand S Shah, Vijay Ranganathan, Nisha Patial
Production Houses: Anthill Cinema & Palampur Talkies
Music: Vaisagh Somanath
Cinematography: Vedharaman Sankaran
Editing: Bhuvanesh Manivannan
Art Direction: Saranya Ravichandran
Costume Design: Tina Rosario
Lyrics: Karthik Netha, Vijay Ranganathan, Vignesh Srikanth
VFX: Celebration of Life
Line Producer: Noel Anton
Creative Promotions: BeatRoute
PRO: Riaz K Ahmed, Paras Riyaz
Publicity Designs: Bharanidharan
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