Ochaayi belongs to the recently popular genre of village movies that aim to be raw and realistic with their depiction of the non-romanticized characters and the real troubles they go through. But both the characters and the troubles they go through are familiar and so the film fails to stand out from the glut of similar movies that have made it to the screens recently.

Mokkaisamy(Dhaya), as a kid, saw his dad(Rajesh) kill his stepmother and her lover in front of his eyes. With dad in jail, Mokkaisamy was taken under his wings by Karuthapandi, the local dada and has grown up to be a ruffian who hates women. When his aunt dies, Mokkaisamy's dad brings her orphaned daughter Ochaayi(Thamarai) to live with them.

Ochaayi doesn't attempt to do anything new with either its characters or the situations they find themselves in. The two key characters of the hard-hearted protagonist with a bad childhood and the woman who tries to change him have featured in many films(one of the more effective ones was Pudhiya Paadhai) and the two dadas, one on Dhaya's side and one against him, are also usual roles. Dhaya's hatred of women, his callous attitude towards his dad and his loyalty towards the dada are all familiar attributes we've seen in our heroes before while Thamarai doesn't stand out.

Though predictable, Dhaya's softening towards Thamarai provides some of the movie's more enjoyable moments. While there are one too many songs considering the length of the segment, Dhaya's gradual acceptance and expression of his feelings and Thamarai's happiness about it are sweet. Considering the movie's genre and the path taken by similar movies in recent times, the film's end comes as a bit of a surprise. It does feel a bit anticlimactic but the element of surprise works in its favor.

'Ganja' Karuppu and a surprisingly decently dressed Shakeela contribute to the comedy track with Karuppu doing 'Venniraadai' Moorthy's trademark role of a husband suspicious of his better-looking wife. Typically, the comedy track occupies a significant portion of a film initially and tapers off as the main story moves towards a conclusion. But the opposite happens here as the track occupies a substantial portion of the second half. So Karuppu's comments about the attention his wife receives initially raise a few chuckles but after it intrudes on the main storyline too much without actually contributing anything to it, it wears out its welcome.

Dhaya looks the part of the ruffian but it is difficult to see him sing and dance in duets. Though the film is named after her character, Thamarai doesn't have much to do for the most part. She does get one strong scene where she knocks some sense into Dhaya's head but her weakness in acting affects the effectiveness of that scene.