Meow Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2021 | U | Family Drama
Critics:
Meow is so uneventful that it almost resembles a TV serial in terms of how it goes about exploring the lives of a middle-aged man and his family in the Middle East. In this form of film, you look for a conflict or another element that keeps you engaged throughout, but you will not find it here.
Feb 8, 2022 By Sreejith Mullappilly

Where To Watch:
Streaming:
   Amazon Prime    Simply South

In Lal Jose's Meow, Soubin Shahir plays Dasthaker, a partygoer who becomes a very religious person after an accident. The almost fatal event makes Salim Kumar's Ustad turn Dasthaker into a religious person who relocates to the UAE and operates a supermarket there. He becomes a believer with three school-aged children who finds it hard to make ends meet. Dasthaker and his wife, Mamta Mohandas' Sulekha, are living separately. We do not know anything about the separation of Dasthaker and Sulekha except that they have a slight disagreement. In one scene, Sulekha dedicates a song for Dasthaker on a local FM station, so it is not like the two hate each other or are on the verge of a divorce.


At the start, I wondered why the film is titled Meow. The title suggests the involvement of a cat, but is its part so important that you name the film after its sound? For one thing, a cat plays a part in the accident of Dasthaker and his relocation that follows. A supposedly big revelation at the end involves a cat, but it only tells you more about Dasthaker than the animal itself. Dasthaker and Family would perhaps have been a better title for the movie.


Iqbal Kuttippuram is the writer of Meow. A frequent Lal Jose collaborator, Iqbal is known for wonderful films like Diamond Necklace and Arabikkatha. But Meow is so uneventful that it almost resembles a TV serial in terms of how it goes about exploring the lives of a middle-aged man and his family in the Middle East.


In this form of film, you look for a conflict or another element that keeps you engaged throughout, but you will not find it here. The makers briefly discuss issues like how the separation of a husband and wife affects their children as well as the predicament of an illegal immigrant in the UAE. But the makers do not really explore these issues deeply enough to make the movie interesting. Whenever you feel that the makers are introducing an element resembling a conflict, like Dasthaker's financial issue or lack of stock, it gets resolved easily. The movie never really comes out of a feel-good-like space.


All it shows is the mundane life of Dasthaker and his family in the Middle East. Do not look for pearls of wisdom or business lessons here. It shows how an ordinary man's life works in real life. But it is not how a movie works. A film needs a conflict or something substantial to make it dramatic. Think about a movie like Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty. There is hardly any conflict in that film. The same applies to this movie.


A running time of about 2:30 hours needs some drama, but Meow is so devoid of drama. The couple's relationship seems to be a bit strained, but the treatment of the film does not make that tension palpable enough.


The only thing that makes you keep watching the film is the central performances. Soubin Shahir shows a quiet sense of confidence in how he portrays Dasthaker. The way he ages on screen is convincing, and unlike some of his other recent outings, he handles the more mature language quite well. It perhaps helps that Soubin himself is a Muslim in that the accent comes naturally to him. Mamta Mohandas is really confident as Sulekha, someone with all the qualities of a standard housewife from Kerala. Soubin and Mamta have an awkward chemistry, which is appropriate for a film that explores the awkwardness in a couple's relationship. I also liked the performances of Harishree Yousuf, as Dasthaker's family and business assistant, and Dasthaker's children, besides the music in the movie.

Sreejith Mullappilly

   

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