Evano Oruvan

There have been quite some movies in the past that have made me feel helpless and sometimes even question my very existence. But if there is one movie that has impacted me the most and literally made me cry, it is Nishikanth Kamath’s “Evano Oruvan”. Many hours have passed since I finished watching it but I still can’t get some of the scenes out of my head. They keep reminding me of so many similar incidents that happen around me everyday.

The movie kept me glued to my seat right from the first few scenes depicting the monotony of the protagonist’s life till the very last one. The dialogs were so simple, yet so powerful. Madhavan, Sangeetha and Seeman played their roles so beautifully. The character played by Seeman seemed to add so much meaning to the script – a character who was a part of the corrupt system itself but was impacted by his own conscience, a character that provided some insights into why the rot existed in the first place.

Undoubtedly the best film I have watched in the recent times.

The synopsis, courtesy the movie’s official website :

This is a story of a simple city dweller who journeys introspectively, hunting for the reasons why his society failed to provide him the evolution he really deserved. This is the story of every man who journeys to and fro everyday, trapped in metal boxes, trying to beat the monstrosity he himself created. This is the story of Sridhar Vasudevan, a middle class bank officer who lives with his wife and kids in Nanganallur, a suburb on the outskirts of the city and travels by train to his workplace in the city. Vasudevan’s life is a weird cycle of routine events, which are quite boring. . He struggles right from the water for household use, to get a place to sit in an overcrowded train heading to Beach Station. He works hard in the bank to sustain himself in the rat race. He faces his nagging housewife Vatsala, who is unhappy about every little thing in their life. He worries about the future of his son Varun and his education. He cares for his little girl, Varsha who is about to join school. Vasudevan has to struggle each minute of his day to survive…. But…

But, Vasudevan is not ready to go against his principles. He doesn’t believe in the hook or crook theory. He lives his life in a straight manner and expects the world to live the same way and here comes the disappointment. He finds most people around him opting for the wrong way. Vasudevan feels sick about people who are ready to take any path to succeed in life or for that matter, just survive.

“Evano Oruvan” begins on a note of eruption of Vasudevan’s wrath about the society and people. He is tired of his wife’s never ending demands including that of a new house. He is unhappy about the way his son wants to clear his examinations. He disagrees with the idea of waiting in the line for tanker water as he has been paying the water supply bills to the government. He protests, but in vain. Everybody around him seems to have accepted the system the way it is., Vasudevan is helpless. He is challenged by his wife about the use of his principles in life. The volcano finally erupts. Vasudevan decides to solve all the problems on his own. He looks like a man on mission, a person who has finally understood the purpose of his existence.