Otta is set to premiere on October 27.
Set in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the film is inspired by S Hariharan’s book Runaway Children, which draws inspiration from Hariharan’s own life.
Oscar winner Resul Pookutty has released the trailer for his directorial debut Otta. It’s set to premiere on October 27 and explores universal life experiences from childhood to young adulthood, reminding us to notice similar stories in the world around us.
The film features Asif Ali as Hari raised in an orthodox Brahmin family with parents played by Sathyaraj and Rohini. It revolves around Hari and his friend (Arjun Ashokan), who run away from home in pursuit of freedom. The trailer suggests the film will delve into intense, expansive drama addressing various social issues. In the trailer’s finale, a mother tries to feed her child, using the impending arrival of the father as a means to convince the child when he refuses.
The trailer, lasting over two minutes, begins with a narrator likening children to clay, shaped by their surroundings. It introduces two boys facing constant reprimands from their fathers, who blame their wives for their upbringing. The boys eventually reach a breaking point and run away from home, leaving us to wonder about the path their lives will take.
Seeing the trailer, one user wrote, “Feels like an emotional rollercoaster.” Another user tweeted, “This will be the career-best performance from Indrajith Sukumaran.” One user also wrote, “Best casting.”
Other notable cast members of Otta include Indrans, Renji Panicker, Jayaprakash, Jayakrishnan, Bhavana Ramana, Devi, Mamta Mohandas, Vinay and Divya Dutta.
Otta marks the directorial debut of the celebrated sound designer, Resul. He achieved worldwide fame in 2009 when he won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for his work on Slumdog Millionaire.
Set in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Otta is inspired by S Hariharan’s book Runaway Children, which draws inspiration from Hariharan’s own life. The film promises an emotional rollercoaster and delves into parent-child relationships and ‘toxic’ parenting.
Otta was initially set for a September release but was postponed due to pending post-production work. With music composed by veteran M Jayachandran, the cinematography of the film is handled by Arun Varma. The script is written by Kiron Prabhakar and the film is produced by Resul Pookutty Productions and Children Reunited LLP.
