Oru Rathri Oru Pakal

Tejas Nair

Following Oru Rathri Oru Pakal (A Night A Day) can be a struggle but if you give it time, it will open its heart for you. The film captures a tense hour between a runaway couple who are hiding from death at the hands of their relatives (and the proverbial society) because they hail from different castes. It's the usual plot but one which has a novel execution. Instead of taking the usual cat-mouse approach, Oru Rathri Oru Pakal focuses on the tension between the couple as they revisit their decision to elope. It's a fine conversation between the two which takes new turns and finds new meanings even as they try to move away from the society that they are so firmly attached to. Despite all that, I didn't enjoy watching it. **Grade C-**. (Reviewed during its Australian premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).)