Premiering at Toronto International Film Festival and associating with the likes of Anurag Kashyap had given this movie the impetus it needed. But once audience got their eyes on the prize, it was reason enough be talked about and discussed.
Mulla (Sanjana Dipu) is frustrated with life in Lakshadweep with his uncle Moosa (Dileesh Pothan). His parents are no more and the only other relation is his elder brother (Moothon in malayalam) who had run away to Mumbai many years ago. One night when it gets unbearable, Mulla leaves on a fishing boat towards Mumbai. The boat capsizes and he is rescued by a ship which drops him off in Mumbai. He escapes from an orphanage and ends up with a boisterous bunch of kids led by Bhai (Nivin Pauly). As he keeps searching for his elder brother, there are things Mulla uncovers about himself and the people around him. In the streets of Mumbai, where everyone from sex workers to transvestites to drug peddlers to pimps make a living, there is no one who cannot be accommodated no matter their past.
Halfway through the movie, one gets the feeling the story has bitten off way more than it could chew. But that is exactly what separates it from similar movies like “Salaam Bombay” and “Slumdog Millionaire”. There is this additional layer of story from another land weaved in. And Director Geethu Mohandas's brilliance lies in the way she marries the two and opens up a world without judgement.
On top of the well penned script, what makes the movie work are the dialogues and the camera. Sans some bird's eye view shots of Lakshadweep, and of the picturesque landscape, the camera has not been forced to move things forward as the script does not need it.. Rajeev Ravi has been able to get beautiful twilight scenes on the island and unusual angles on the stoned Bhai. The Hindi dialogues by Anurag Kashyap and Lakshadweep dialogues by Sreeja Sreedharan have left the individual identities of the places intact. Production design from Abid T.P is also something to look out for.
Dileesh Pothan, Shashank Arora, Sobitha Dhulipala, Sujith Shankar and Roshan Mathew give memorable performances. The most riveting one, however, comes from the protagonist Nivin Pauly who portrays two different personas in two locations. Circumstances dictating the character is something to be seen to be believed. I got the feeling that cops were mostly peaceful bystanders and warning mongers at best, which if was intentional, is a reference to the political climate.
There are no two ways about it, the movie will make you go back and think. Elder brothers improve our understanding of the world and here “Moothon” gives you the same from two worlds, explores what it means to be passionate and signs off with a reassuring smile.
