Otta review: Resul Pookutty’s film has a touching theme but pretentious script

Even in the most trying moments of his life, even as he "reaches rock bottom", as a friend calls it, Hari has a smile flickering on his face, as if he is amused by it all. The smile fades only in the confines of the home he grew up in, where his memories begin and end with the harshness of his father and the helplessness of his mother. This is how Resul Pookutty presents the protagonist of his directorial debut – Otta (Alone) – based on the real life story of Mumbai-based businessman S Hariharan and his book Runaway Children. While the underlying theme – of unloved children and homelessness – is moving, the scripting, too full of pretentious lines and philosophical jargons, has a large part of the film come off as fake.

The shallowness of the script is reduced to an extent by memorable performances of actors like Asif Ali and Indrajith Sukumaran. Asif Ali as Hariharan plays an adorably well-adjusted young man who is unfazed by poverty, smiling every time he sees children run by. His emotions seem tethered, unlike his friend who runs away with him when they both decide they can’t stay home any longer, feeling trapped and unloved. Ben Thomas (Arjun Ashokan) is easily upset, violent to the point of needing medical treatment, evidently more broken than his friend. What he lacks is the broad-mindedness of his friend, who too had a difficult childhood.

Sathyaraj and Rohini play the parents of Hari, in a Tamil household in Kerala. Everything from their attires – sela for her, veshti for him – to the rituals, is made to look typical (of Tamil families), except for the harsh punishments of the father. Bad parenting appears to be a running thread in the film, with three main characters suffering from it. Ben is a child of divorced parents and living with an over-controlling mother. The third character – Raju played by Indrajith – suffers in his adulthood for the past doings of his father. Indrajith and Asif Ali are a delight to watch, especially in their bonding. Indrajith is ever so underutilised, you have to wonder why. Asif Ali’s subdued expressions can tug at your heartstrings even as the scripting makes it hard to take anyone seriously.

You’d wish for silence, because you know a lovely moment may just be ruined by yet another fancy and sometimes questionable one-liner: "What we expect is not what happens in life, life is what it is", or "Crying will not give you relief, it will only make you cry more". Only Indrajith’s lines in Thiruvananthapuram dialect sound real. Music, at times full of static, further reduces the dialogue quality.

The visuals however give a genuine picture of the poor and the downtrodden in the streets of rural Tamil Nadu – where Hari and Ben arrive. Runaways, youngsters unsure of a future and people without hope, end up in the dingy lanes and corridors, coming to terms with their realities.

The lens doesn’t focus a lot on the women – the crying mother, the disciplinarian doctor, the privileged cousin, and the oppressed coworker pass by, leaving incomplete pictures of themselves.

It is not that Otta is not relatable. Resul has tried to give a faithful account of Hariharan’s story, depicted the realities that a runaway can end up in, and kept the flow. Only, the superficial treatment has weakened the effort. 

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the producers or any other members of its cast and crew.