Otta is a 2023 Malayalam film which was released on 27 October 2023. It is a movie by Kiron Prabhakaran and directed by Resul Pookutty. Based on one of the Books titled as Runaway Children by Hariharan S., the movie is produced by Resul Pookutty and Hariharan S. under the banner of Children Reunited LLP and Resul Pookutty Productions, and distributed by Century films.
The movie has a total duration of 2 hours and 28 minutes which is the official period of run time and the cinematography of the movie is performed by Arun Varma and the movie is edited by Zian Sreekanth. M. Jayachandran is the music director of the film. Asif Ali who plays the role of Hari alias Hariharan, Arjun Ashokan is Ben, Indrajith Sukumaran is in the role of Raju, Sathyaraj who plays Iyer role, Umabba as the mother of Hari and Mahatma Mohandas are the main characters in the movie. The Otta Movie has six, in total, songs.
Contents
Review
Otta is a brilliant production and the first film of the Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, who tries to illuminate the dark side of life of the runaway children, abuse, and trauma. The movie is based on the true-life case of social worker S. Hariharan and his book Runaway Children, which attempts to blend a documentary with the art of filming. However, their execution is unequivocal although its intentions might be commendable.
It is a film of two boys Hari (Asif Ali) and Ben (Arjun Ashokan) who run away to search freedom and dignity. It takes them to another survivor, Raju (Indrajith Sukumaran) who has a far more miserable past. These three tales are a constituent of the emotional core of Otta. Asif Ali is more subdued, making an endearing act and Arjun is more brilliant within a role that demands anger and weakness. His character is underwritten and his scarred emotionally colored character is given a depth by Indrajith.
It is full, in technical side of Otta. The camera work of Arun Varma makes the grime of the rural Tamil Nadu and Kerala sensitive. Sound design, expectedly is precise, and the music, composed by M. Jayachandran, gives textures to the emotional curve. The production design, particularly the setting ten years ago, by Cyril Kuruvila makes it more timely.
Unluckily, the film falters in its screenplay and structure. There is the abrupt change of the scene, the sketched characters, and the philosophizing in no context. Sexual abuse and toxic parenting are discussed in an authentic manner without hesitation but they tend to lean toward simplifying or miscalibrating sympathy.
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The area that Otta is successfully doing is in igniting a much-anticipated conversation on trauma and healing but in particular groups of marginalised youth. However, its storytelling misjudgments prevent it, otherwise, to achieve the emotionally shifting experience that it has the potential to be. The script might have been tightened and the characters made more focused to make the message of the movie more powerful.
Otta is a gem of a film, very juicy and with its eyes on the right place, but with a weak script.
Cast
Otta includes a powerful cast whose acting enhances a narrative full of emotional appeal by Resul Pookutty. Asif Ali stars at the heart of the film playing the role of a runaway youth called Hariharan and whose childhood abuse haunts him throughout his life. Asif provides a less stereotyped portrayed depiction, juggling between power and vulnerability with perfect control. The trauma is rendered by his emotive performance, even in silence, which does not succumb to melodrama, which is an indicator of mature acting.
Arjun Ashokan shines brightly as a young man, Ben and a highly wounded man who struggles with rage and in a bid to cope with abandonment. His acting is harsh and touching as it captures the emotional instability of a child who was raised by his parents as a failure. The personage who adds gravitas to the film is Indrajith Sukumaran who, in the role of enigmatic wounded Raju. This stoic figure, with an underlying foundation of silent misery, increases the experience of the three.
One of the symptoms of toxicity between generations is veteran actor Sathyaraj whose role as the strict father of Hari is an indication of a toxic father figure. His acting is subtle but shocking, especially in the emotional scenes at home. As the mother to Hari, Rohini expresses sympathy but also a sense of uneasy pain, whereas Bhavana, who plays the role of an abusive mother to Ben, is chilling because she is playing above a gloomy scene of the movie.
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All the actors like Adil Hussain, Indrans, Divya Dutta and Lena, albeit in small roles, give the larger story a slight sense of reality. The ensemble, collectively, levels Otta with multi-layered performances that have an undertone of the real world hurt and human perseverance.
Critical Reviews
Cris of The News Minutes scored the film two out of five stars and praised Asif Ali and Indrajith Sukumaran on their performances, who bring vibrancy to a very thinly written film. Even though Otta tells a good story of children that are not loved and homelessness, the reviewer also described that the movie was overcrowded with philosophizing and repetition. The movie was visually powerful and even emotionally touching, but it was rather unsatisfactory and uncompleting.
Sajin Shrijith of Cinema Express gave this film three and a half out of five stars and said that Otta is a powerful, heart-wrenching film that does not hesitate to reveal the negative aspect of the trauma. They cheered at the scrupulous narration of Resul Pookutty, who is a part realist and a part artist. The acting of Asif Ali, Indrajith Sukumaran and Arjun Ashokan were singled out as being strong and emotive. It is not an all time movie that everyone will enjoy watching, however with the haunting characteristics of the story it is one that many will not forget.
Subhash K Jha of Times Now gave this movie four and a half stars out of 5 stars and termed the movie as an emotional and unforgettable movie with no glossing on the side compared to Slumdog Millionaire. Asif Ali, Arjun Ashokan and Indrajith Sukumaran were much appreciated in terms of their strong performances. The film is brave to accept trauma and not bow down to dramatics, blending its sensitivity and realism. Otta is characterized as the movie of the year and it has taut direction, sharp writing and haunting visuals.
The Indian express movie reviewer Anandu Suresh gave the film a one star rating out of a total five stars and termed it as disjointed and incomplete in narration, although the film addresses important topics and the performances by the actors are of great quality. They felt that there was no logical storytelling in the film, as a bunch of unconnected Instagram reels that jumped between an unrelated moment, without being able to emotionally connect with it. The acting of Asif Ali, Indrajith and Arjun Ashokan is fine and good but the movie was poorly directed and scripted. The cinematography was the only thing that was not ordinary.
Audiences Reviews
The Otta film received favorable reviews among the viewers. The number of those who rated this movie 8.1 stars out of 10 stars on IMDb is just 194 people which is not a great rating yet it can be considered fake since the number of reviewers is very small. After reading the user reviews, I discovered that the movie has received a mixed yet generally entertaining response with its main praise being its performances and technical fusion.
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The grandeur of the roles of Asif Ali and Arjun Ashokan was enjoyed by most of the audience as their emotional roles were declared the heart of the movie. The description of the traumas and abandonment of the troubled youths have echoed with many and the light touch of the acting of Indrajith Sukumaran has also been welcomed in good taste.
Users hailed the bold directional debut of Resul Pookutty who realized that the film has an emotional core and narrative. A few reviews applauded the sound design and cinematography (Arun Varma) as true-to-life especially in the sequences set in railroads, shanties, and city areas. Seungmi Lee wrote about Rohini and Bhavana Ramanna because of their strong supporting roles, and disliked the fact that Sathyaraj was not utilized fully.
However, the script was perceived by some users to be lopsided and melodramatic, and the storyline was seen as pertinent to 2023. Criticism was made against character motivation being unrealistic and the emotional touch being melodramatic in some situations. One referred to it as a melodrama that could not endure 2.10 hours and another one referred to it as underrated, a masterpiece.
In general, Otta can be viewed as a technically capable and thematically apt work, though its continuity in terms of events and pace has mixed reviews.
Songs
With an abundance of melodies and frequently emotionally charged scenario with a significantly Tamil viewpoint with some Malayalam surface influences also, the soundtrack does not fail the film. It begins with eerie song, written in Tamil, called En Kaadal Nadiye, by Vairamuthu and performed by Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sreeraj Sahajan. This is a heartfelt opening to the sound track, expressive vocals can be heard, and a calming composition.
Rafeeq Ahamed wrote the ensemble coloured song “Parakkum Parava Poley” and it was sung by Jassie Gift, Alphons Joseph, Yazin Nizar, Malathy and Swetha Ashok. It plays In a great mood and the cheerful song make the album spiritually lifted. The third song is Peyneer Poley where Shreya Ghoshal along with Benny Dayal are in a romantic duet and this song is flowing with smoothness and attraction. The similar song performed by a male voice is succeeded by P. Jayachandran and Benny Dayal trying a deep version of the same tune.
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Another song by Rafeeq Ahamed titled Paral is a soulful song with a textured sound having the three voices of Benny Dayal, Unni Elayaraja and M. Jayachandran. The final song on the album is the sweet and brief song of “Ottaykkoru Mutham” which is a simple melody by Lekshmi Jayan and can be considered a soft closing of the musical experience. Overall, the six tracks run approximately 21 minutes and offer a whirl of emotions and feelings that include romance and egging the listener to contemplate something, which makes the soundtrack an extensive balanced listen.
How to Watch the Otta Movie
Otta film is over with its theatrical run. At this point, the film is no longer on any OTT. Those who are unable to watch Otta in theatres will have to wait until its commercial release on the digital platform. The film will be available to watch on any of these common OTT sites such as SonyLIV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney + Hotstar, or ZEE5. Exact date and platform are not known.