Odam Kuthira Chadam Kuthira (Okek) is a absurd black comedy film starring Fahd Fasil and Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead roles. Written and directed by Althaf Salim, the film has identified the second director enterprise of actor-Filmekar after Najandukulede Nattil Oridelva.
The film was released in theaters on August 29, 2025, matching with ONAM. However, Mohanlal’s Hridaypurvam and Kalyani’s own Loca: The box office conflict with Chapter 1 failed to impress the audience and especially received a large extent negative reviews when released from Youtubers.
Surprisingly, after its OTT release, it has managed to attack a raga with a part of the audience, which is an opposite of its initial reception. Why did Fahd Fasil starrer manage to join the audience only after his streaming debut?
Odam Kuthira Chadam Kuthira: Theater vs OTT
Odam Kuthira Chadam Kuthira is an absurd black comedy that examines a deep sensitive story. Initially, despite appearing as a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, the film takes an experimental approach in execution, offering a sharp contrast in the trailer that was distributed in theaters.
From the beginning, Okek distinguishes itself from the traditional ways of telling the story and adopts a different approach to a simple story. In theaters, the story feels that a separate demographic was found, failing to connect with the audience, it was actually for it.
See the trailer here:
Each member of the audience has his own dedicated taste to praise the film, and Okek quickly drowned amid a wave of negative uproar during his dramatic run. After the first screening and early reviews, the film failed to find its niche audience, and the consensus became unfavorable.
Negative words-mouth, together with a box office clash with Loca and Hridaypurvam, made it difficult to appreciate the film at that time. The irony is that another experimental venture like Loca managed to find its audience and even became a large -scale hit in theaters, yet successfully running.
Now that Okek has wrapped its dramatic window and is streaming on Netflix, it has found a comprehensive audience within and outside India. The film is no longer limited to its initial market, it has finally resonated with the audience who appreciate this special sub-style.
Zany characters and bizarre humor are now reaching more than only traditional audiences, giving the film to the location that it is necessary to perform better, turning it into a success on OTT.
However, what does it indicate about the film’s praise among the audience?
Why did Odam Kuthira Chadam Kuthira find his audience after Oat release?
Odam Kuthira Chadam Kuthira is an unconventional film that uses the emotional chaos of depression as a central story, which treats with absurd dark humor. The actual progress and the film’s offbeat tone resonates only with a specific multitude of the audience that is open to experimental cinema.
While the dramatic window had its limitations, not only by a crowded box office but also by early Youtube reactions, which greatly influenced public perception. Many influencers were unable to understand the intention of the film, and his negative assessment influenced his followers, contributing to the film’s heavy response.
However, once the film reached the OTT screen, Brukhi was celebrated with the top audience, who found the value in its unconventional story.
The mixture of dark comedy with Sarraelism is not without its flaws, and Okek never meant an ideal film. But a film does not require perfection to be entertaining or meaningful. In that regard, Fahd and Kalyani starrer is a success, for at least something.
Also read: 5 South movies to watch in theaters this week: Rishabh Shetty starrer Kantara Chapter 1 to Idli Kadai of Dhanush
