KOTTAYAM: Ottal Vasavan, who entered cinema by rowing a boat through Vembanad lake, was recently forced to sell his boat which was gifted by director Jayaraj. The hero of the national award-winning film 'Ottal' had no choice as he was going through financial difficulties.

Vasavan is undergoing treatment for skin disease. As he had to stop fishing due to the illness, he had to borrow money for daily expenses and medicine. When the debt increased, he sold the boat for Rs 30,000 to pay it off.

In the film, Vasavan portrayed a duck farmer who comes to the rescue of Kuttapayi, a nine-year-old boy whose family members committed suicide due to rising debts.

Vasavan worked as a mahout in Kumarakom for several years before he took up fishing. Jayaraj accidentally saw Vasavan while he was rowing his boat in the Vembanad lake. Following this, he was made the hero of the movie which went on to win the Crystal Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Golden Crow Pheasant Award at IFFK. Though Vasavan got small roles in some more films, he was not able to make financial gains.

Jayaraj gifted Vasavan a new boat named 'Ottal' when the latter's old boat got completely rotten. Vasavan went fishing using that boat for four years. However, he was forced to sell it due to his poor financial situation.