We've seen movies like Mudhalvan, Bharat ane Nenu, and Sarkar (Tamil) that are based on the concept of an ideal leader that the people want in a Democracy, a leader who is educated, honest, powerful, and compassionate. However, the above movies have had lead characters turning into leaders by provocation, compulsion, and outrage respectively. But, in One, you have an established character of a Chief Minister with all the good values and it is through his life, both professional and personal, that the movies travels through. The writers bring up several controversies and crises that Chandran comes across, but the core idea of the story, also the principal motive of Chandran, is dropped off in the beginning and picked up from somewhere in the end. It was quite intriguing how the first hour of the movie was assembled, but the excitement dips after that. For an actor like Mammootty, the character of Chandran is a cakewalk, in fact, it is his screen presence that keeps the movie floated. A lot of actors come and go, but only a few get to perform, and talented actors like Nimisha Sajayan, Binu Pappu, and Joju George are under-used to a large extent. Even though 'One' speaks volumes for the common man's problems, its fictionalized method of storytelling makes it unconvincing. The writers had in their minds what an ideal Chief Minister should be, and they penned it down accordingly, but the Indian Audience know how stinky and dirty the country's political system is, making the character of Chandran and his actions a hard pill to swallow. But 'One' ends on an optimistic note, promising that there'll be better changes in the country, almost motivating the voters ahead of the Kerala Legislative Assembly elections in April.
