Otta Movie Review: Resul Pookutty’s Directorial Debut Is A Monumental Achievement
Oscar-winning Sound Designer Resul Pookutty makes his directorial debut with Otta, starring Asif Ali, Arjun Ashokan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sathyaraj, and Rohini, among others.
Updated Oct 27, 2023
About Otta
For many minutes after the end credits started to roll, I sat numbed and misty-eyed staring at the blank screen, sorting out the clashing colliding emotions on what I had just witnessed.
Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty’s Otta (meaning One) is an outright winner. Emotionally plush and also a very engaging and enrapturing motion picture, this is the story of three abused children who grow up to be a trio of tragic runaway misfits trying... well, just trying to survive, since fitting in seems impossible.
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Otta Movie Review: Plot And Performances
On paper, this is not an ideal weekend-unwinding fare. It is astonishing how much sunshine Resul brings into this dark tale. Let’s just say, if Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (the film that got Resul his Oscar) had been less touristic in tone, it would have got somewhere close to the buoyancy and relevance of Otta.
Straight off, let’s salute Asif Ali for his incredibly fine-tuned performance as Hari whose father (Sathyaraj, another exceptional performance) used the rod liberally on Hari as a child. Of the three angry heroes, it is Hari who is the least messed up in his head and who has that killer smile for everyone even as his eyes get teary every time a new hurt enters his life.
Ben (Arjun Ashokan, also excellent) is the most messed-up of the three protagonists. There is violent anger simmering within Ben as his abusive mother (Bhavna Ramanna) drives her son to the wall. Ben will revolt. He does. Ben’s abuse never stops. He is the kind whom the police would enjoy torturing if were he to be arrested for his violent streak.
The third hero, the one-eyed Raju (Indrajith Sukumaran) comes in late with his monstrously violent history of abuse and bloodshed. The relationship among these three heroes is never trivialised, never pummeled into shapes more digestible for the audience than they actually are.
Otta Movie Review: Critique And Direction
Pookutty and his outstanding writer (Kiron Prabhakaran) never try to soften the blow. And yet these are not crybaby victims whining for our sympathy. They are determined to crawl out of that hell hole which destiny has gifted them, no ribbons attached.
As the narrative travels from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, there is abuse everywhere in Otta. The young ill and physically tortured teashop worker Raheem (Vinay) is heartbreaking in his vulnerability, as is the unnamed female staffer played by Vinisha who gets brutally raped by her employer. These characters come close to being manipulative sympathy seekers.
Somehow, Resul makes every character a hero. He plunges into this world of irredeemable grime and little punishment with sensitivity and honesty that make Otta the film to watch if you know the world is going to end tomorrow.
Sadly some of the characters, like the lady cop (Lena) and the characters played by Indrans, Adil Hussain, and Divya Dutta get lost in the crowd of anguished voices. The prime focus is on the characters played by Asif Ali, Arjun Ashokan, and Indrajith Sukumaran. But nobody is irrelevant in the film.
Otta Movie Review: The Final Verdict
This is not the place for sidelining the fringe people in our society. Otta celebrates the have-nots without patronizing them. It is a superbly paced drama that deals a resounding blow in our guts. Arun Verma’s enriching cinematography, Zian Sreekanth’s seamless editing, and Cyril Kurivila’s invisible art direction make this the film of the year and one you won’t forget for a very long time.
End of Article
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