Ottamuri Velicham- (Light in the Room)

Directed by Rahul Riji Nair, this Kerala state award winning film is centred around marital rape

Light carries a positive connotation, but the light glowing in Sudha’s bedroom is an intrusion and an intrinsic part of her dark story in ‘Ottamuri Velicham.’

Chandran (Deepak Parambol) brings his new wife Sudha (Vineeta Koshy) to his home, a small dwelling on the mountains of Bonakkadu (near Trivandrum, Kerala). Separating the bedroom and the room outside is a flimsy curtain hanging over the doorway and Sudha notices that the window in her bedroom cannot be closed. She also can’t switch off the glowing light above, a crude structure made of bottles. When she tells Chandran about fixing a switch to it, he harshly retorts that she keep her hands off his lamp.

If Sudha could resist Chandran’s advances on the first night, few days later, she realizes that she has married a ruthless man, who does not care for her feelings at all. Chandran coerces her into sex, not just by forcing himself on her but through physical violence.  

Yet, Sudha makes efforts to understand Chandran. She wakes up early to make him coffee before he leaves for his work. Another day she carries lunch to his work-place only to be rudely admonished for venturing out on her own. Chandran has no qualms about disrespecting her in front of his boss- the man who believes in Chandran’s creative inventions-the glowing bulb in the bedroom is one of them.

It’s a regular ritual as Sudha waits in dread every night for Chandran- her screams of pain heard silently by her mother-in-law and brother-in-law sleeping outside the room. Sudha is trapped in a relationship from which there seems no escape. The only balm is the care of her mother-in-law, (Pauly Valsan) who nurses her in the morning after the brutality of the night.



Nair’s narration is sensitive. Under the glare of the glowing lamp he reveals the marital rape conveyed through Sudha’s screams and not by resorting to unpleasant graphic visuals. The focus is on Sudha’s agony and abuse by a sadistic husband.

Both the lead actors, Koshy and Parambol are in great form as they bring alive their characters. Parambol’s Chandran is completely detestable with his psychotic behaviour and you wish him dead just like Sudha. Every night, when Chandran returns home, you dread the minutes that will follow, almost feeling Sudha’s pain, such is the intensity of Koshy’s performance. There is no loud melodrama. Sudha speaks little and her agony is conveyed well through Koshy’s expressions. Koshy received the Kerala state award for Best Actress.

What really made Chandran this way? You wonder. He is an  intelligent man with a knack of working with electrical appliances and devising  ingenious practical inventions by recycling stuff. A wild boar that visits their garden every night to ravage on the tapioca plants becomes a metaphor for Chandran’s behavior. Sudha and her mother-in-law lay a trap for the animal. 

His mother excuses his behavior when she tells Sudha that she too suffered a similar fate under her husband and Chandran has grown up seeing that. She even tells Sudha that her son is actually good at heart, unlike his younger brother. Male domination is an accepted thing for her when she reminds her daughter-in-law that she is a woman. But unlike the regular mothers in law, she empathises with Sudha and tries to alleviate her pain.   

Cinematographer Luke Jose’s frames are spectacular. The environment around shows Nature at her pristine beauty yet carries an intimidating feel through out when seen through Sudha’s eyes. As she gazes out of the open window in the stillness of the night it brings in an eerie feel; the uncertainty in the wilderness as Sudha tries to escape from home, scrambling down the mountain side lined with thorny bushes and wading through gushing streams-the camera follows her sending a shiver down the spine.

Director Nair scores with his telling-a gradual flow of events. From the terrified young bride who has no control over her life to emerge strong and bold, hardened by pain and sorrow, yet cannot be cowed down by any man. And when she finally does fix a switch to the lamp, you tip your hat to her.

‘Ottamuri Velicham’ won four Kerala state awards-Best Film, Best Editing, Best Actress and Best Second Supporting Actress (Pauly Valsan). 

Without star power this is a tale that speaks from the heart.