MUGIZH (2021)

November 14, 2021

Critic No. 249

Director: Karthik Swaminathan

Written by: Karthik Swaminathan

Produced by: Vijay Sethupathi Productions

Casts: Vijay Sethupathi, Regina Cassandra, Shreeja Vijay Sethupathi

Music: Revaa

Language: Tamil

Genre: Drama

SYNOPSIS:

To help his daughter (Shreeja) with a fear of dogs, a father (Vijay Sethupathi) brings home a pup. But when tragedy strikes, the whole family must learn to overcome grief together.

REVIEW:

Vijay Sethupathi is one fine actor in Indian cinema that loves to experiment. He has never shied away from trying something new even if it has a limited audience attached to it. ‘Mugizh’ is one fine example of how he embraces innovation and wants to make films that add value to the ecosystem of Tamil cinema.

‘Mugizh’ focuses on a family of three, Kavya (Shreeja), and her parents, Radhika (Regina Cassandra), Vijay (Vijay Sethupathi). In order to help Kavya overcome her fear of dogs, Vijay brings home a beagle pup, and they name him Scooby. Kavya learns to love, and Scooby becomes an adorable, integral part of the family. However, a tragedy strikes the family, and they struggle to pull themselves together to overcome grief.

I loved how the film is rooted in realism and the emotional beats are treated so delicately with effective uses of long takes and silences. It reminded me quite a bit of the cinematic world of Balu Mahendra. The detailed close-ups, the pauses, and the sharp dialogues bring us closer to the legend’s style. I liked the way how the film did not only focus on the relationship between Scooby and the family but also well develops the bond between the father and mother.

The writing also makes you empathize with the helplessness they face as parents to pull Kavya out of grief. In one particular scene, Vijay struggles to explain grief to Kavya, it makes you realize the difficulty faced by parents to explain such a complicated feeling to children when even they themselves are struggling to grapple with it. Revaa’s music soothes well with the film’s mood. All three actors have done a great job with realistic performances and Shreeja is the surprise package who carries her role with much maturity.

It’s a small film with a big heart certainly that leaves you to ponder over how we have overcome a few griefs in life and the lesson that it teaches us along the way. I just felt that the film is not for the big screens and I am unsure why the makers have opted for a theatrical release before giving it to Netflix and having interval for a film that runs for 59 minutes feel forced. I just wish the film expanded the struggle a little with more variety of scenes and let us see more of the world that the director has developed. In that sense, it felt that it just needed more time to create a stronger impact.

That said, ‘Mughizh’ has you reflecting on several deep topics, including overcoming fear, handling grief, raising children, and of course, how selflessly lovable dogs are.