Ottu Movie Review

Ottu is an Indian action thriller film that was simultaneously made in Malayalam and Tamil. Ottu, which translates to "Betrayal," is known as Rendagam in Tamil.

Fellini T. P. is both the writer and the director of this film. August Cinema and The Show People are the production companies of the film. Jackie Shroff, Eesha Rebba, Kunchacko Boban, and Aravind Swamy all feature in the movie. The 2022 movie Ottu's Tamil version was released on September 23, while the Malayalam version was theatrically released on September 8.

Plot of the Movie

The movie begins with a happy-go-lucky man, Kichu, who wants to leave the country with his girlfriend, Kalyani.With the support of his father, Chachan, Kichu accepts a shady mission from a group of individuals who want to pay him to become friends with a lonely man. They disclose that the lonely man's name is David. He is a gangster who suffered memory loss during the fighting at Udupi and had access to secret information regarding gold valued at Rs. 30 crores. Kichu accepts the offer and searches for David to become friends with him. He soon runs into David selling popcorn in a movie theatre. Kichu nervously approaches David in a variety of ways and finally becomes friends with him and refers to him as his "brother" by calling him "Anna."

They stopped in Goa to relax and chill out on their journey from Mumbai to Udupi. The two got into a fight with a drunk man, who got beat up by a drunk David. After their argument, David and Kichu sit on the beach at night and drink. David is shocked and begins to have serious doubts about Kichu when Kichu discloses his real motives without using his senses. Eventually, David approaches Kichu and asks about himself. Kichu lies to him by telling him that he learned about it from a friend. David keeps pleading with Kichu to arrange a conversation between him and the friend because he feels like something is missing from his life. Kichu finally discloses that David was the ruthless gangster who served as his boss Asainar's right hand.

Unexpectedly, David admits that he is actually his boss Asainar and not himself. When the gang learns from Kichu that Asainar is in the car with Kichu, they are shocked to hear this information. They confirm it is Asainar and offer Kichu an additional 10 lakhs in exchange for taking Asainar to the Udupi shootout location. Kichu rushes outside to get two teas when they finally get to the shooting location in Udupi, but the tea vendor lady has already made two for them and offers him the tea. Kichu, who is terrified of Asainar, serves him tea, and Asainar asks about Kichu's memories of the incident. Asainar responds with a "no" and a question about if Kichu can recall ever being called or addressed as "Dawood (David)."

When Asainar calls Kichu Dawood, Kichu becomes confused. Asainar finally admits that Kichu is actually David or Dawood and that Kichu is the one who has been experiencing memory loss throughout. Kichu is unwilling to accept any of this. When the gang shows up at the scene, they stand in support of Asainar rather than Kichu. Kichu is frightened when he unexpectedly sees Kalyani and his father, Chachan, dressed up with the rest of the gang. He is shocked when he realizes that his entire existence has been nothing but a lie. Kichu is questioned by Asainar to explain why David betrayed him during the particular incident, but he fails to remember anything and instead screams and sobs.

Kichu is brought along with Asainar and his men to another rival named Adiga. When they get to Adiga's bungalow, they kill everyone inside before finding Adiga on the beach, where he recognizes everyone?including Kichu/David. He recalls every detail of their former origin incidents before ultimately expressing his rage towards Asainar. Adiga gets murdered by Asainar and then carries Kichu to a nearby, quiet area. Asainar comes to the conclusion that Kichu is of no use and leaves after realizing that Kichu cannot recall being David. Kichu queries the name David used to call Asainar before leaving. Asainar replies David used to call him "Annan" (brother) and orders Kalyani to kill him when he leaves.

Kalyani holds Kichu at gunpoint while holding the gun in her hands. When Kichu finally asks about his identity, Kalyani nods, confirming that he is really David. In his dying moments, Kichu recalls telling Kalyani that Kichu believed Asainar to be David. If David even slightly realizes that he is David, nobody around him will even consider touching him. In the final scene, Kichu suddenly turns into David and begins to fight back, killing everyone but Kalyani. David hugs and kisses her but ultimately kills her at that exact moment, proving that Kichu has indeed become David. David then grabs a vehicle and is seated in it. He realizes a promise he had once made to Asainar's wife that he would murder Asainar once and for all. David then sets on the way to hunt Asainar down. Asainar is egotistically sure that no one can stop him, implying that the story will continue.

Plot of the Movie

Ottu is the title of the movie, but if one looks closely at the most recent posters, you'll see an unclear addition: "Chapter Two." After seeing the same in the movie's opening titles, viewers would definitely wonder if they missed "Chapter One" in a different movie with a different name. There is no need to worry because "Chapter One" is simply the incident from which "Chapter Two," which is also known as Ottu, provides brief glimpses or flashbacks. These are blurry memories that provide background information on what happened before Chapter 2.

The film opens with Kichu, a young man without a job, getting ready to leave the country with Kalyani, his lover, who has been offered a position in Norway. In order to fund his plan, he accepts a mission from an unidentified gang to become friends with David, aka Dawood, a well-known mafia don who has completely lost his memory as a consequence of a gunfight. The gang needs Kichu's help to get his memories back, which might help the gang to find the lost gold.

The movie spends a lot of time on the road trip that Kichu and David take in order to revive David's memory by revisiting the sites that hold many memories from his past. Most of this journey is entirely dull, with the exception of a few interesting scenes. The only thing that can be found interesting is the connection between the two characters and how their friendship grows during the entire trip.

One starts to doubt if Ottu is a thriller, a road movie, or a typical gangster movie at the halfway point because it contains components that may make it fit into any of these genres.

The entire thing was planned to catch the bored audience off guard with a last few minutes' explosion of twists and high-flying action. However unexpected the twist may seem, this strategy falls short. It's because the film's producers didn't have their minds made up about what they wanted the picture to achieve, leaving many problems unresolved at the film's conclusion.

The following are some of the numerous unanswered questions that the viewer may have regarding various scenes:

First, the scene where Kichu asks Asainar about the name David used to call him raises questions in the viewers. He is addressed as "Annan" by Asainar, which means brother. Here, the question arises why Asainar wants to kill David even though David used to call him his brother.

The second scenario is when David suddenly remembers his promise to Asainar's wife. The reason why Asainar's wife requested David to murder her husband is a mystery.

Lastly, it's Jackie Shroff's cameo. Given how little effort was put into crafting Jackie Shroff's character makes us wonder if he was just added to the cast to include another well-known name from the past.

The fact that the film leaves so many things unaddressed might have happened because a three-part series was being planned. It ultimately resembles a jigsaw puzzle with an extensive number of missing pieces, which raises the question of whether there is enough content in the picture to stand alone.

The concept of mentioning "Chapter 2" then becomes clear as the end titles indicate the possibility of both a prequel and a sequel of the movie. However, considering how Ottu is going, it needs to generate more interest for the expected prequel and sequel.