They say that there is no love purer than the love of dogs. This belief is generally held by Mughizh, an hour-long short film starring Vijay Sethupathi, Regina Cassandra, and Sreeja Vijay Sethupathi. But unlike your usual children’s films where animals are used as props or written unnecessarily in the film to emphasize the melodrama, everything in Mughizh is so subtle that you neglect the clarity of the narrative. Its softness may be due to the short film, which is more like a family digging through old photos and memories that come together than the attributes of a film.
And that’s with meticulous care so as not to look like a fake giant ball.
For starters, it’s good that this short film features a cute little puppy, Scooby, who is the real “star” of the film. But it’s not just about Scooby. Again, unlike ordinary children’s films, Kartik Swaminathan does not make a love story; This is the other end of the spectrum: grief.
The music composer Revaa said that the title Mugizh translates as one of the nine stages of a flower that blooms when it finally gets its scent. The flower in Mughizh is Kavia (Sreeja Vijay Sethupathi). He is the owner of the film; it’s about him dealing with love and sadness. He loves dogs and can’t stand it when his father, Vijay (Sethupathi), befriends the animal. He discovers what true love means when his father brings home a puppy named Scooby. Scooby’s accidental death puts a family in a difficult position.
While Mughizh is a hilarious film, I hope Kartik finds another exciting way to stage a dog’s death, even though it makes sense how the scene plays out. I also hope he finds another way to write the resolution that Kavya finally accepts. I understand the limitations of the form, but it seems too easy. But in short, Kartik did something brilliant.
There’s a fantastic scene where Vijay Setupati and Regina’s parents:
Did the director notice her? Did they notice how good she is?) give kava a way to live and absorb the emotions of sadness. We also get a fantastic line from Setupati: “Leave him alone, but we’ll keep the door open. He’ll be out.” It was as if the father said. ‘I know he is suffering and I know we are by their side. Only he can get out of there.’, but in the end, it was their journey.
It’s not the film writer’s job to recommend what to see or not. And that’s not a request. But if you want to take your kids to a movie that will make them smile all the time as it did for me. Mughizh is a solid proposition. Can we “normalize” short films by sticking to social media labels that focus on only one aspect of life, like in Mugij? Perhaps this explains the need for more Vijay setup.
Here is a lesson for parents on how to give their children a place to deal.
With newer and more complex emotions such as sadness while children are also faced with such problems. And while the topic is as tricky as loss, the film has a delightfully sweet naturalness. Naturalness can also be seen in the muted colours of cameraman Satya Ponmar and the excellent film music of Revaa. While the film spends most of its time showing us how these characters deal with grief and learn to come out of it, the tone isn’t sad. It’s also a rare film that conveys a message without doing the natural feel and crying over it.
At the same time, Mughizh was also curious. For an hour or so, it was somewhere between a feature film and a short film. But now that it has reached theatres, the question is whether such films can give you a feeling of well-being after watching a film. The answer depends on what you are looking for in a film. Even though the story feels complete and the show brimming with life – Sreeja is sure that this is a debutant, while Regina’s low-key reactions are delightful.
