‘Moora’ Movie Review: This revenge drama packs a punch with its stellar performances

Still from the movie ‘Mura’ Photo credit: Special Arrangements

Its trailer had action and gore written all over it Mura And that’s exactly what you get in the movie. Actor Muhammad Mustafa, who made a promising directorial debut with the thriller Capella (2020) is back with a violent revenge drama that relies on excellent performances by the cast and tough action sequences.

Set in Thiruvananthapuram, the story revolves around four unemployed friends — Anand (Hridu Harun), Manu (Jadhu Krishnan), Manaf (Anujit) and Saji (Jobin Das). The youth willingly enters the world of crime and violence and comes under the wing of Oni, a gangster played by Suraj Venjarmudu.

Still from the movie ‘Mura’ Photo credit: Special Arrangements

The impulsive, temperamental four decide to undertake a risky job in Madurai under Ani’s instructions. Although they plan to put an end to their criminal activities after accomplishing that task, things don’t go as planned.

In this film written by Suresh Babu, Mustafa scores big with the cast, especially the four young actors. Hridu, who is the leader of the group, is great as the angry young man. His experience is found in his acting, films in other languages, his Cannes outings, All we imagine as light. The other three belong to Thiruvananthapuram and hence they are struggling with dialect and dialogue delivery, apart from putting out convincing performances. Actors Krish Haasan and Vigneshwar Suresh also made a mark as friends of the gang.

Casting Ani seems like a cakewalk for Suraj and the element of surprise comes from Mala Parvati as Ani’s boss, Rema; Although it makes us wonder why he was given artificial teeth. Nevertheless, it’s a welcome change to see a woman calling the shots in a gangster drama, though why Kani Kushruti’s character doesn’t feature much in the narrative will remain a mystery.

The action is as raw and real as it gets; Be it in chase sequences or fights. Mura Another addition to the list of recent Malayalam movies that have gone for high-stakes stunts. However, it makes you question whether so much violence is necessary in certain sequences.

Still from the movie ‘Mura’ Photo credit: Special Arrangements

The technical side — by Fazil Najer (cinematography), Chaman Chacko (editing) and Christo Jobi (music and background score) — shines through. What works against the film is that the script skips a bit towards the second half, thus creating an overwhelming effect. You want to root for the youngsters and their anger, especially Anandu, but the narrative falls short of emotional intensity. If this care were taken, Mura Would make for a great movie.

Mura Currently playing in theaters.