Mei Hoom Moosa movie review: Suresh Gopi, occasional sparks of humour can’t save this uninspiring comedy-drama

2.5/5

Story: Nineteen years after Lance naik Muhammed Moosa is believed to have died during the Kargil war, he returns. His village, which has been renamed Moosamukku, and his family have been the main benefactors of his act of valour. But his return, after spending close to two decades in a jail in Karachi unknown to the Indian government, throws a spanner in the works. How Moosa sets about to prove his identity while also trying to come to terms with everything that has happened around him during his time behind bars, form the plot of this comedy drama.

Review: In a sequence in Jibu Jacob’s Mei Hoom Moosa, the titular character’s wife Kunjipathu (Poonam Bajwa) comes to invite him for his daughter’s wedding. Awaiting her at a distance is the former’s brother (Saiju Kurup), who is now married to Moosa’s wife and has raised his daughter as his own. Moosa (Suresh Gopi) sees through the conflict in his wife and hands her a pair of anklets as a wedding gift to his daughter, he hasn’t seen for the past 20 years. It’s a moving sequence as it shows the pain that two central characters go through because of their unexpected predicament. But right after Moosa says that he wouldn’t be coming for the ceremony, he moves forward and whispers to his wife, “Can we elope after her wedding is over?” It’s sure to bring a smile to the audience’s faces.

It's these occasional sparks of humour that shines in the writing of Mei Hoom Moosa as the story of a man who has been declared dead and has to prove his identity, is pregnant with several melodramatic moments. For most parts, the scenes do veer towards this territory too, only to be punctuated by a funny line. That way the pay off works. But the other side is that the audience will have to sit through plenty of predictable and dreary sequences to enjoy this and that definitely doesn’t make for an engaging experience.

The scriptwriter Rubesh Rain has given its protagonist several challenges to face once he returns to his village, after being a prisoner in a Karachi jail for 19 years. He is believed to be dead and his act of valour has been celebrated by his village and his family stood to gain from it. So, his arrival isn’t quite met with open arms. In fact, they want him gone. Here’s also where the story takes a twist, Moosa too doesn’t want to stay around, he wants back his money and his wife, who is now married to his younger brother. In parallel, there is a government investigation – which is treated more like an afterthought to have any impact on the film – and the arrival of another character through whom we actually see what transpired on the fateful day Moosa ‘died’. The protagonist’s main challenge finally comes down to proving his identity and that is not an easy task for someone. This is also where most of the humour originates, as he tries to understand how the world and the people he has known and cared for have changed.

Unlike Jibu Jacob’s previous ventures such as Vellimoonga or Ellaam Sheriyaakum, the movie’s script isn’t taut nor is it gripping. The old-school making doesn’t help either and there are sequences such as Suresh Gopi’s character yelling in the middle of a minefield surrounded by Pakistani soldiers that will make anyone cringe. Though the film has different threads, none of them are explored enough to catch your attention. After a point, it almost feels like a comedy skit or a TV serial that tries to say a lot, hoping at least something sticks.

Suresh Gopi performs his role well and you could only see Moosa the character. The portions in his past though are too melodramatic. His comedy timing is mostly on target and this is aided by Hareesh Kanaran. Poonam Bajwa and Saiju Kurup too stand out with characters, who are torn between love and family – but in equally opposite ways. The other artistes, however, come in roles that they have already done before. Except for a song by Shankar Mahadevan, the music of the film too doesn’t stand out.

Verdict: Despite a novel thought of doing a comedy entertainer about a man coming back from the dead, Jibu Jacob’s Mei Hoom Moosa doesn’t try anything new and suffers because of that.