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Trapped in a communal conflict film review

Ottakkayyan

What marks ‘Ottakkayyan’ (One-handed Man) is the surprise element and the emotional intensity in its climax. The helplessness and sense of loss of persons caught involuntarily in the vortex of communal strife is conveyed through imaginative visuals and sound effects. The film is written and directed by G.R. Indugopan.

Excellent camera work by M.J. Radhakrishnan and natural sound effects by Raj Marthandam set the tone for the film. The events take place in the course of a single night in a remote place by the side of a rail track. It is shot in real time.

A young man (Arun) chased by an armed group escapes from them. He plants himself in the middle of a rail track as the train rushes towards him. In the nick of time, a one-handed man, Vasu (Harisree Asokan), pushes him off the track. Some time later, a second person (Ashokan) lays himself on the tracks. His soliloquies indicate that he has come to commit suicide. The one-handed Vasu appears again and persuades him to move away from the rail track. Later, in a rundown and deserted house, the two men meet. In their conversation, it is revealed that they belong to two warring political outfits engaged in a communal conflict. The first man says he killed a person that night on the instructions of his group leader. Torn by guilt, he decides to commit suicide. The second man says he too killed a person that night as directed by the leader of his group. Remorse-stricken, he too contemplated taking his life. Now, once again the one-handed Vasu appears before them. How Vasu is able to influence the two young men forms the rest of the story.

T. G Ravi as Kollan Kanaran gives a stellar performance as an amnesia-affected old man given to intermittent bouts of violent outbursts. The cast includes Rani Babu and Machan Varghese. Indugopan’s lyrics are set to music by Samad Priyadarsini. The song ‘Ravu oru pakshi’ sung by Devanand is haunting. The other singer is Anwar Sadath. The background score by Chandran (Paris) is in consonance with the overall theme of the movie.

Ottakkayyan is produced by Vidhubal Chitra for Violet Movies.

G. Jayakumar

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