Tovino's campus film OMA heats up political debate

 

The crew of Oru Mexican Aparata (OMA), the latest flick with rising Mollywood actor Tovino Thomas in the lead, should thank the SFI (Student's Federation of India), the left-wing students' union for giving it the much-needed push on the releasing day. Students thronged theatres on Friday carrying SFI's white flags, and when the titles started rolling, they shouted 'Inquilab Zindabad.' 
 

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The story revolves around an 'SFY' leader's heroic feat in establishing his union in the bastion of KSQ, challenging its decades of dominance. The director, Tom Immatty, did not hide the resemblances between the SFI-KSU clash in Kerala and the story had obvious links to some incidents in Maharajas College in Ernakulam, one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. Now, the film has triggered a political debate, which would further boost the collection of OMA. 
 

Watch Trailer of OMA

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KSU (Kerala Students Union), the student's wing of the Congress alleged that the film misrepresented the incidents in Maharaja's College in 2010 to favour the SFI, the leftist union.  

 

The real background of the OMA is the rise of KSU in Ernakulam Maharajas College in 2010 under Jino John, the district vice president of the union. He ended 37-years   dominance of the SFI in the campus elections. He went on to defeat the SFI in the College Union Chairman elections, the official page of the KSU stated. "We ushered in the real revolution first," the KSU claimed.

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Interestingly, Jino John, the former KSU leader is a very close friend of director of OMA told  SouthLive that the story of KSU's landmark victory in Ernakulam Maharaja's College was changed as producers thought a KSU hero wouldn't sell. "It was conceived initially as a KSU subject. But no producer was interested. So we thought of making the hero 'independent'. That too didn't appeal to the producers. Finally, we decided to bring in an SFY leader," John said. 
 

Also read: In Kerala, furious students set principal's chair on fire
 

Most of the incidents actually happened in Maharaja's College over the years, and some incidents were added to make it cinematic, Jino John added. 

 

Young Congress leader and former MLA PC Vishnu Nath also felt that the OMA misinterpreted the history of Maharaja's College and KSU. "It offers a petty romantic piece," he said. "The film comes at a time when SFI is facing its worst times. The students' union stands shamefully exposed in campuses of Kerala by playing second fiddle to the managements including Law Academy's Lakshmi Nair. But the attempts to save its face by distorting facts will not work," Vishnu Nath said. 

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The public perception created by SFI in campuses and in general would have helped the film to draw huge crowds, said SFI state president Jaik C Thomas. 

 

Meanwhile, the SFI unit secretary of Maharaja's College said the OMA misrepresented the incidents in College. The college has never witnessed such violence. The KSU is also spreading distorted stories, he added.