‘Ullasam’ movie review: Shane Nigam, Pavitra Lakshmi star in dull, sinister rom-com

gleeful Filled with lessons of philosophy and life at every turn, so much so that one may wish to have a notebook to jot down some of these for later reference. The centerpiece of the film’s philosophy is the ‘Bracket Theory’ propounded by Harry (Shane Nigam) to Neema (Pavitra Lakshmi). Both of them are trapped somewhere in the middle of the jungles of Ooty, easily fell from the train. After the initial animosity, as we’ve seen in countless other movies, they slowly warm up to each other.

A few adventures, involving a very film set-like tribal village, and a few more wrong turns later, Harry puts forth his theory. He asks her to imagine this part of her life, when two strangers are stuck in ‘nowhere’ in the middle of a long paragraph as lines written inside a bracket. According to his theory, lines inside brackets usually do not connect with those that are outside (one wonders who writes such meaningless sentences inside parentheses). And so, what happens during their time together will have nothing to do with their real life. On expected lines, the film proves that theory wrong.

Jeevan Jojo’s directorial debut is in ‘Nowhereland’, which missed a train leaving the station a few years back. It exists at a time when jokes on the LGBTQIA+ community were considered par for the course. One of Harry’s “heroic” acts in the film is starring as a gay man in order to get the groom into trouble and stop the marriage. Another running joke in the film is about Harry’s full name – Harry Menon – as the mixed names reflect different communities, supposedly a joke. As a hint of another joke, Harry’s father was named Richard Menon.

During their visit to Ooty, Harry and Neema reveal nothing about themselves, but it seems that the two have some deeply emotional backstory. When their background is later revealed, it is revealed that the two are leading a comfortable life, nothing more than the usual hardships that one would have to face. Neema is also heard saying that he will hate if Harry sees her true form, but there is nothing in her real life to justify such a comment. Going a bit deeper into the topic of a chance meeting could have been effective if the script had some essence to back it up.

One wants ‘bracket theory’ to work for the time spent watching gleefulWhich hardly provides any joy (glee) to the audience.

Ullasam is currently playing in theaters