Muhammed Musthafa’s sophomore film Mura is woven around a simple thread—a bunch of boys entering the world of organised crimes, only to realise that they are pawns in a bigger game and soon find themselves in a fatal predicament. The story is as familiar as it can get. Still, multiple other factors work in the film’s favour, including Musthafa’s gritty treatment, the raw, power-packed action sequences, and the dynamic performances of the leads.
Among the boys, Hridhu Haroon is evidently the ‘hero’, because he’s the one taking all the major decisions. Apart from this typical heroism, nothing differentiates him from the others, which ensures the film doesn’t delve into familiar ‘hero-centric’ storytelling.
While such choices are refreshing, one can’t help but wish the film’s writing went beyond the regular tropes in gangster stories, like greed, betrayal, and the rise-and-fall narrative. Edited judiciously to be under 130 minutes, the film moves at a rapid pace until the final act, where it hits some major roadblocks. This is where Suresh Babu’s screenplay fails to come up with fresh ideas, turning the narrative extremely predictable.
Suraj Venjaramoodu plays Ani, a gang leader working for a businesswoman named Rema (a superb Maala Parvathi). Ani and his men are involved in ‘quotation’ crimes when the aforementioned boys join them. Anandhu (Hridhu), Saji (Jobin Das), Manaf (Anujith Kannan) and Manu (Yedhu Krishnan) instantly grab Ani’s attention with their loyalty and supreme fighting skills. Things take a wild turn when Ani hires them for a serious job, kicking off a series of drastic events.
Mura’s best part is its action and all the four lead actors are exemplary while performing the stunts, which might initially come across as rousing but are rightly unsettling. Cinematographer Fazil Nazer and action choreographer PC Stunts deserve praise for crafting the kind of fight sequences not usually seen in mainstream Malayalam cinema. The stunts are frantic, furious, chaotic, and even include failed punches and characters stumbling over each other.
Mura is powered by an efficient set of actors, a lot of them newcomers, who bring raw, unbridled energy. Hridhu, especially, is impressive, both in the fights as well as the emotional scenes.
The ever-dependable Suraj Venjaramoodu effortlessly plays his part as a seasoned gangster, who doesn’t want to dirt his hands directly anymore. Being the brilliant actor that he is, Suraj hardly reveals the character’s true emotions, but still establishes his authority. Playing his right-hand man Friday, Kannan Nayar also gets a meaty role, which he does convincingly. Maala Parvathi, who is often limited to brief roles as a typical hero’s mother or some doctor, is refreshing in a negatively shaded role in this film.
Thematically and treatment-wise, Mura seems to be strongly influenced by films like Subramaniapuram, Uriyadi, and even Kammattipaadam, the leads of which are also hotblooded men. But unlike these much-discussed films, Mura fails to push beyond the surface and as a result, limits itself to a generic gangster tale. This is despite the premise having all the potential to explore broader themes.
Film: Mura
Director: Muhammed Musthafa
Cast: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Hridhu Haroon, Jobin Das, Anujith Kannan, Yedhu Krishnan, Maala Parvathi
Rating: 2.5/5