'Moothon' Review: Geetu Mohandas' film blends two hard-hitting tales, Nivin Pauly gets the role of his lifetime

Movie: Moothon

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Sobhita Dhulipala, Shashank Arora, Roshan Mathew, Sanjana Dipu, Melissa Raju Thomas and Dileesh Pothan

Director: Geetu Mohandas

Duration: One hour 50 minutes

Language: Malayalam and Hindi

Critic's Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Story: A teenager escapes from Lakshadweep to Mumbai searching for the older brother and get trapped in the underbelly areas of Mumbai.

Review:

I remember watching the teaser of Moothon earlier this year and the voiceover of Nivin Pauly caught my attention. The video ended with a sandalwood face of the actor and looking extremely fearful. I rewatched the trailer multiple times for some Easter eggs but still couldn't understand what might be the plot. Then a few days back, the trailer for Moothon was released and made out a different movie on my mind. It seemed like a cakewalk to guess the plot of the film until I witnessed the full-length on the big screen. Moothon is nothing like its teaser and the trailer which makes it more beautiful and kickass I must say. 

The film starts with kids lying on the clean sand on the serene island of Lakshadweep while dreaming about what the other part of the world looks like. Among them is a teenager named Mulla (Sanjana Dipu) who dreams of going to Bombay, not as an ambition but to search elder brother (Moothon). Mulla is shown as a young boy wearing a shirt and half trousers but is always ragged by the boys in school where he is forced to wear lipstick. But Mulla is a rebellion and doesn't fear anyone. That's where Geetu Mohandas (director) dropped the mystery around the film. Although ragging is common it did not fit the bill for me on why Mulla is being a victim solely in that village.

All these leads him to escape to Mumbai where Mulla is tortured by child abuser and she had narrow escapes every time. The underbelly of Mumbai which we have seen in multiple films was again shown in Moothon. But it's always gut-wrenching to see this side of the city which is feared by many of the Mumbaikars. Mulla then meets Rosy (Sobhita Dhulipala) who is a sex worker in Kamathipura. She helps the teenager a lot but then Mulla gets kidnapped by Bhai (Nivin Pauly) and his right hand Salim (Shashank Arora), who plans to sell them because that's what happens sadly! 

Up until now, we saw two different parts of the country - calm Lakshadweep and chaos Mumbai. However, both are revisited time and again in the film due to which the balance has been maintained. Moothon is not just about the search of an older brother but it also takes us through a journey of searching oneself and how a place can make or break you. Bhai is shown as a meth addict, headstrong gangster but how a Malayali rules the lane of Kamathipura which creates a mystery around the character.

Then comes another beautiful character Aamir (Roshan Mathew) who brings the vulnerable side of Akbar (Nivin). Their sequences are a treat to one's eyes and it had the same tranquillity as the island of Lakshadweep they lived in. Moothon's self-discovery part is mainly about the sexuality of a person and it has been a skip-a-beat moment for me while watching the film.

The best part of the movie was there was no interruption by songs and it went with the narrative as it needed to be. Moothon is two different movies blended and even 110 minutes seemed like longer because Geetu made sure to not miss out minutest details. Every character deserves applause and it was raining talents in the film.

Let's start with Nivin - he shed his chocolate and lover boy image for which hats off to Geetu to envision that he could pull off this character. He got into the skin of the character perfectly and not just emotionally but physically as well. Sanjana - She outshines in the film as Mulla and will leave you shocked with the way the film progresses around her. Roshan - the actor plays Aamir a mute character but very talkative. His eyes and sign language emoted everything which could be felt with the heart. Wished to have seen more of him but nevertheless, he was incredible.

Geetu deserves a standing ovation as the director who knew what she wanted to convey!

Verdict: Watch Moothon witness Nivin in a never-seen-before character and for a tale which is still ahead of its time.