In the grainy, nostalgia-laden opening sequence of Fazil Razak’s sophomore film Moham (Desire), a young girl looks longingly at a motorcycle. Minutes later, when the scene cuts to a present day image of a grown up woman gazing similarly at a scooter parked in front of a house and later slowly walking away with it, one wonders where the filmmaker is intending to take us. The feeling remains the same, in a good way, as the film’s themes slowly unravel.
Only well into the meaty centre of Moham, being screened in the Malayalam Cinema Today category at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala, does it reveal its true colours and intentions. Portraying the oppressive and corrosive nature of toxic relationships and the toll that the violence takes on women who are at the receiving end of it, as well as the men, appears to be one of the filmmaker’s concerns.
He has clearly drawn inspiration from the frequent reports of spurned lovers taking the path of violence. Razak’s viewpoint towards the issue is uncommon and even unfashionable in an era in which films like Arjun Reddy and Animal are celebrated. At the centre of the story is Amala, a woman facing mental health issues and Shanu, a violent troublemaker, who is itching for revenge against the woman who broke up with him due to his overbearing nature. Catalysing the unlikely coming together of the two characters from disparate backgrounds is a stolen motorcycle.
