O2, by newbie directors Raghav Nayak & Prashanth Raj, kindles fond hope that it is going to be a film with a difference, as the title credits, roll by.

Given its tantalising title, your antennas aroused and you sit up expecting a hardboiled, nuanced sci-fi thriller to have you engaged and enthralled for the next 1:43:45 mins of its screen run time.

A Yakshagana performance plays out intermittently as you engrossedly watch a young woman doctor with a wired cooling helmet in hand monitoring the various parameters of the person on the patient bed.

The director duo, having pumped you, the audience, with sufficient O2 (Oxygen) and ensured you are alive to be actively invested in the narrative to follow, however, themselves, seem to go into anesthetic surgical slumber, to horribly lose the plot.

Their idea of entertainment seems to be to punctiliously pursue the proverbial tried and tested trite, tiresome tropes. Romance (with a besotted perpetual stalker beau pursuing the career driven woman). Professional conflict (with an infuriated and misogynist professor out to put his prodigious pupil in her place for not following basic protocol to let the man hog the limelight).

The efficacy of her experiment questioned by an ilk of her own tribe. Made to face as many hurdles and hindrances as possible, to show how self-made women need to overcome all pinpricks to hold their place, even if entire society is ranged against her vision and achievement.

In the process you bitterly learn, as the putrefying film plods thereon, that, should you breathe any more of this O2, you are sure to suffocate and suffer brain hemorrhage and no amount of resuscitation efforts by the pretty young dutiful doctor would bring you back to dear life.

As the film begins your experience an adrenaline rush as her benefactor describes Dr Shraddha Nayak, female lead of O2, as an “organised, conscientious and very meticulous and one of finest doctors in the country.” That she got her MBBS when merely 18 to be the 2^nd youngest in the country to do so and now pursuing frontier medical research.

The premise for such an eloquent and effusive description, as also the reason for O2, seeing its filmi birth, being the director duo Raghav & Prashant, would have us believe, that most coma patients have brain consciousness, who, with timely medical intervention could be revived back to life.

Yes, as Dr Shraddha Nayak, puts it, even after heartbeat ceases, within 30 mins if the Elixir of Life – O2, is injected in the comatose patient, there is every chance of him/her being brought back to life.

The lab mice have testified to it. The next stage of human trail is where the aspiring doctor is shackled by the system out to clip her wings. As one of the participants to whom Dr Shraddha explains her medical thesis retorts chipping in with a bit of “soul” searching philosophical gyaan like the self-styled gurus: Is it not true that the ‘soul’ of the dead person weighs 21 grams which is ‘spirited’ away. And is not that the exact quantity of O2 you seek to inject into the person? to give him the oxygen shot of life back?

Oh dear! dear! the doctor is simply flummoxed for an answer wondering where “soul” and “spirits” come into the picture of her trail blazing Elixir of Life O2 research experiment. So much for science to philosophy of O2.

You begin to wonder, as it would seem even Dr Shraddha, whether did she do haste in shredding to bit the offer letter from John Hopkins Hospital to join them and seek to stay put to ‘Make in India’ life saving revival drug and pursue her career on Ground Zero.

Trust me, despite their hearts being in the right place, directors Raghav (who plays Radio Jockey Osho/Omkar), and Prashanth, spoil their sci-fi broth bringing too many crooks to cook up a cracker of a movie, due to their short-sighted cinematic vision.

Like Prakash Belawadi, who ironically plays Dr Mruthanjay (conqueror of death), who, slighted by Dr Shraddha’s zealous pursuit, plays the spoilsport, so do the director duo, who, instead of giving audiences a meaningful, paisa vasool pulsating sci-fic, woman centric thriller, take all devious paths to putrefy their own promising product with petty ambitions.

Despite renowned Jayant Kaikini penning the lyrics for O2, Vivan Radhakrishna’s scores are not uplifting or soothing at all nor are the acting of the ensemble cast, expect for Ashika Ranganath who stands tall as Dr Shraddha Nayak among the fractured fate of O2. Even the presence of “Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye” & “Bachelor Party” fame Siri Ravikumar, trying to provide the oomph! factor as Dr Shruthi foil for Dr Shraddha does not light up the lusterless show.

“New gen audience who are into international films will definitely like our film. Both the directors are very creative. The film is very updated and has some great content,” according to co-star Praveen Tej. If only one could share his optimism and wishes were horses one could whip up a jackpot winner. Tut! Tut! That’s not to be. Sigh!

By..

S Viswanath is veteran Film Journalist / Critic & involved in various key capacities at many International Film Festivals circuits across the Globe also co-author of book ‘Random reflections: kaleidoscopic musings on Kannada cinema.