One Review: Mammootty Shines Bright in an Average Political-Drama!

Santhosh Viswanath’s One on AHA is a 2021 Malayalam political-drama that takes us through the various episodes revolving around Kadakkal Chandran, who holds the distinguished position as the Chief Minister of Kerala. Produced by Sreelakshmi R, ‘Megastar’ Mammootty plays the iconic role of Kadakkal Chandran, along with an experienced cast including Joju George, Binu Pappu, Mathew Thomas, Murali Gopy, Salim Kumar, Siddique, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and Nimisha Sajayan. With a dramatically stretched 152-minute runtime, the film takes us into a plethora of events that CM faces along with a very sensible idea that he carries along with him.

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The storyline of One on AHA begins with Sanal (Mathew Thomas) drafting a Facebook post when his father was hospitalized, criticizing the Chief Minister, Kadakkal Chandran. Chandran, who leads a very respectable political life, gets carried away by these events alongside the opposition’s pressure lead by Jayanandhan (Murali Gopy).

Subsequently, Kadakkal Chandran in One has a great skill to tackle situations like these, with good support from his friend and party secretary, Baby (Joju George). With the resolution of the issue, Sanal becomes closer to Chief Minster Chandran, and later he assigns Sanal a task that is targeted to achieve an idea conceived by him and Baby during their college days. The idea was to light-up the entire political scenario that had a greater constitutional risk. Will Kadakkal Chandran be able to tackle such a tough situation?

The premise of One had something new to offer, but the screenplay from Bobby and Sanjay failed to create a compelling theatrical experience. The plot shifts from scenario-to-scenario and missed the much-needed emotional connection. The central plot was carried properly in the second half of the movie and made it better through and through.

The cinematography by Vaidy Somasundaram was decent, and he captured the capital city, Thiruvananthapuram in its true colors. Also, the classic frames of the Kerala Legislative Hall and Secretariat were pleasing to watch on-screen. Tailoring the frames, Nishad Yousef had done good work in the editing department. Production Design by Dileep Nath nailed the job of filling the right elements in the places that are very familiar to viewers. Gopi Sunder’s original background score complimented the movie well, and the only song in the movie was a mediocre experience.

‘Megastar’ Mammootty shines in the iconic role as the CM of Kerala with pumping dialogue delivery, he had brought in resemblances with a few of Kerala’s greatest politicians. Mathew Thomas had showcased his immense talent at his younger age, and his role had equal importance as that of Kadakkal Chandran. Alongside Mathew, the new face Ishani Krishna had a good screen-time, and she utilized it to the fullest. Another remarkable performance was from Joju Geroge, who had enacted the right emotions most realistically.

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Overall, One is sub-par when it comes to the screenwriting side of things and missed the intrigue. However, Mammotty shines bright in an iconic role. A strict one-time watch!

One on AHA – 2.5/5 | Grade – C+

Images via Ichais Productions