Oke Oka Jeevitham

Oke Oka Jeevitham (transl. “One and only life”) is a 2022 Telugu science-fiction drama written and directed by debutant Shree Karthick and produced by Dream Warrior Pictures. It was shot simultaneously in Tamil as Kanam. Sharwanand, Amala Akkineni and Ritu Varma star, with Vennela Kishore, Priyadarshi and Nassar in support. Released on 9 September 2022, it opened to positive reviews. Our record lists a running time of 157 minutes.

What the story is about

In 2019 three childhood friends are each stuck in life: Adhi is an aspiring musician who never got over losing his mother, Seenu is a real-estate agent who regrets neglecting his studies, and Chaitu is struggling too. When Seenu shows a house on the outskirts to a scientist named Paul, Adhi notices boxes dated 28 March 1998, the day before his mother died. Paul has a time machine, and a deal for Adhi: go back, save his mother, and in return stop the 1998 experiment that killed Paul’s colleague Michael. Chaitu and Seenu go along hoping to fix their own pasts, and the three land in March 1998, face to face with their younger selves.

Cast

• Sharwanand as Adhi
• Ritu Varma as Vaishnavi
• Amala Akkineni as Adhi’s mother
• Vennela Kishore as Seenu
• Priyadarshi as Chaitanya “Chaitu”
• Nassar as Paul
• Ali as a cab driver
• Ravi Raghavendra as Ravichandra

Making of the film

Shree Karthick, a short-film maker, signed the project with S. R. Prabhu’s Dream Warrior Pictures in 2017. He pitched it at ₹4–5 crore, but Prabhu felt it deserved a bigger scale and asked him to make it as a Tamil–Telugu bilingual; Karthick has said the film echoes his relationship with his own mother. Sharwanand, Ritu Varma and Nassar were cast in August 2019 and Amala Akkineni in November, marking her return to Telugu cinema after eight years. Tharun Bhascker wrote the Telugu dialogue, Sujith Sarang shot the film and Sreejith Sarang edited it. Filming in Hyderabad and Chennai was halted by the pandemic for eight months before wrapping in November 2020; a planned February 2022 release was dropped amid the Omicron wave.

Jakes Bejoy composed the music. The first single, the “Amma Song”, has Telugu lyrics by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry and is believed to be one of his last songs; “Maaripoye” features actor Karthi in his Telugu singing debut.

Reviews and box office

Critics were mostly warm. The Times of India gave the Telugu version 3.5 out of 5, calling it a slow burn with an engaging first half and “a brilliant interval twist”, though the mother-son portions could have been crisper. Priyanka Sundar of Firstpost also gave 3.5, calling it “a beautiful tale about healing from grief”. Pinkvilla and Sakshi Post gave 3 out of 5, and Balakrishna Ganeshan of The News Minute 2.5, noting that it steers clear of the science of time travel.

In the United States, Telugucinema.com reported that it had crossed half a million dollars, and Wikipedia gives $511K as of 19 September 2022, making it Sharwanand’s third-highest grosser there after Sathamanam Bhavati and Mahanubhavudu.

Where to watch Oke Oka Jeevitham

SonyLIV bought the digital rights and began streaming the film on 20 October 2022. Our OTT record is based on the film’s Wikipedia article rather than a platform listing, so check SonyLIV for current availability.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Oke Oka Jeevitham and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.