Moothon is about a naïve child who is in search of his brother who leaves the island. The reasons why he left the place and into what he has turned to, makes the rest of the story. Moothon enchants us with its beautiful way of storytelling. As the movie progresses, Mulla is wrecked by a high tide. In the sea, with a bag of hope, he sees Amina as the Mermaid who has come to help him and lead him to his brother. Mulla’s hope is shown brilliantly, without a single word. And then there’s a sudden cut into the reality.
There is another scene taking place in the flashback where we see an army of fish jumping into Akbar’s boat. It reflects the state of mind he’s in. It cuts to the fish he might have actually caught. Geetu Mohandas used such poetic images to convey what the characters feel. And we, audience, empathize with these characters. There’s a lot of pain the characters go through. Bhai tells Mulla about the time when a “Swine” came from the Island and he had to kill him cause of his inability to survive. In this scene, Bhai is talking about himself. He has done all the odd jobs to survive but failed to survive. So, he has become what the world wanted him to be. Till he knew who Mulla is, he had no purpose in life except for survival. He’s even shown with haldi applied to his face trying to ease the pain. Akbar who fell in love, has to face the consequences. The consequences leave him broken, empty. Ameer, the mute love interest of Akbar is forced to marry a girl. Ameer feels helpless, surrenders to the fate. Mulla, the child is forced to fight with the other guys of the gang to get him “ready”. Then Mulla is forced to slash a goat’s throat. Mulla had to go through the bullying, escape the paedophile and even end up being a prostitute.
The pain forms the core of the story, the characters try to be themselves but fate throws them in the whirlpool of pain. The orphans who form up gangs, the child trafficking, the child prostitution, the paedophile warden in the orphanage, Geetu Mohandas shows us the raw truth of the society around us.
Akbar and Ameer’s relationship is shown in a charming manner. The looking into the eyes romance to the scene where Akbar is seen running his hand over his other arm feeling Ameer’s touch, blushing and smiling. Here, Akbar’s innocence of the characters gets you butterflies in your tummy. Akbar is no more akbar, his innocence is lost somewhere in the shabby lanes of Kamathipura. He lost himself in the storm of drugs. He’s ready to “sell” kids for money. An innocent introverted religious Akbar turns into an angry, built, violent Bhai. Amina, Ameer’s sister, a soft-spoken girl in the village of Lakshadweep turns into a bar dancer in Kamathipura. There are many unanswered questions about her journey. But they have been left out for the obvious reasons.
Lakshadweep, a serene calm island contrasts with the shabby lanes, dirty lanes of Kamathipura. Geetu Mohandas very skillfully weaves a story juggling with crime, violence, oppression, taboo, love, romance. Geetu doesn’t give us an ideal happy ending. She shows us that Mulla is into prostitution and she had made peace with it. That’s how prostitution works in India, you make peace with your circumstances. With no other way to survive, these women are forced to “sell” their body. Her smile is painfully beautiful, innocent in its own way. I wonder how many Mullas, Bhai’s, Ameer and Akbars, Aminas, Lateefs, Rosys are down in those shabby lanes all over India.
