I am quite appalled at the critic's response to OLLO in India. The film has been given at best a rating of average to a complete dud. I can only imagine that the reason behind this response is the fact that there is no 'out and out' superstar in the film and hence the critics do not have to show any loyalty to the 'you can't do wrong' Khans, Kapoors or Kumars of Bollywood.
I must admit I went to watch OLLO with quite low expectations given the lack of critical acclaim the film had received, despite the fact the film was directed by the very competent Dibakar Banerjee of 'Khosla ka Gholsa' fame and had an interesting ensemble cast. I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised that the film definitely met my expectations and it proves that you can't trust the film critics in India who practically live in the pockets of certain Bollywood stars.
The problem in India now is that you have parallel cinema with your mainstream run of the mill films for the masses and artistic films for the more sophisticated pallet. Therefore the tendency for critics is now to first categorise the film in to either one of these categories and then review it on that basis. For me OLLO doesn't fall in to either one of these categories it is just a simple tale told in a competent way much like 'Khosla ka Ghosla'. OLLO captures the atmosphere of Delhi perfectly and the adolescent years of the main character Lucky are amazing. From thereon in OLLO becomes a simple tale of a thief who steals out of force of habit that is the storyline in a nutshell.
How the main characters interact with each other helps develop the story further and the storyline follows a natural progression of events (with some mirch masala) towards its climax. As for the performances Abhay Deol is a natural. By far he stands head and shoulders above the rest of the star cast despite the fact that Paresh Rawal is given three clear opportunities to steal his thunder. Whilst I must admit that Abhay Deol is not blessed with typical Bollywood star looks and his screen presence isn't up there with the best of them (in saying that Shah Rukh Khan looks like a caricature with his big nose and lips) , but his honest portrayal of the characters he plays is always near perfect. The rest of the star cast is also very competent and compliment each other. Once again Dibakar Banerjee has proved that he can put together an amazingly entertaining film from a very simple storyline. He reminds me of the great Hrishikesh Mukerjee.
Finally, I would like to recommend that true cinema-goers firstly ignore the trained critics of India and follow their instincts OLLO is well and truly worth a watch.
