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Charming and relatable, this small film is a wonderful departure from most “festival” films that, for a paying audience, are not at all value-for-money. Such films as Max Min & Meowzaki may not even create a spark, let alone set the box-office on fire, but they are worthy outings for people who want slice-of-life stories.
The film also pays tribute to legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and naturally sweeps into spoken Tamil when translations could never have been as effective. Also, a good chunk of the dialogues are in English.
On the flip side, the film does take political stands that everyone may not appreciate, but the core story stresses on worthy, subtle messages that all religions are about good people with flaws. This can make them end up conventionally ‘bad’—almost.
Meowzaki (a real cat named Radha) is the apple of the eye of Min a.k.a. Minara Hussain (Medha Shankar), the live-in girlfriend of Max (Siddharth Menon), real name Mahesh. He is severely allergic to cat fur, but for Min, he continues taking steroid nasal drops so that he can tolerate Meowzaki.
Flashpoint comes when Min, “finding” him too immature, wants to break up with Max, a short while after Max’s mother passes on. Min leaves Meowzaki with him for a short while, and Max has no option but to find a “cat-sitter,” which he does in Carol (Vidhatri Bandi) when he decides to move on and go on a dating exercise.
Meanwhile, prosperous businessman Ramesh Mahadevan (Adil Hussain), Max’s father, seeks counselling from Dhaara (Mandira Bedi) for his issues, and the shrewd therapist begins to work on him, delving into his causative past. Ramesh’s father, Sridhar (Nasser), a renowned classical virtuoso, has opted for life in an old-age home as he has never been close to Ramesh. Max, since the age of 13, thanks to his squabbling parents and largely disinterested father, has lived with his grandmother, who is now no more and is a singer in a rock band.
Soon, Carol and Max grow close, and slowly, everyone’s hidden personalities come to the fore along with everyone’s suppressed emotions. Life is strange but we have to accept everything, the bouquets, the buffets and the boons.
The film is deftly written and directed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy and has quite a few emotional highs for the susceptible viewers who keep their handkerchiefs ready for their tears. Most of the humor comes from realistic situations, and the editing and technical aspects are fine.
The background score, as always nowadays, has too much of the guitar, but is alright. A couple of songs sound nice when on, with decent lyrics. The rock version of a devotional might click with GenZee.
The film is lifted by fantastic performances. Adil Hussain, as always, is superb, and his emotional breakdown in front of Dhaara, his (unrelated) realization that she is a lesbian (no spoiler there) and the sequences where he interacts with Max at different stages and finally with his father are all fabulous.
Next, I liked the underplayed performance of Mandira Bedi as Dhaara: she is note-perfect as the compassionate therapist. Nasser is a sheer delight in a light role, while Siddharth Menon and Vidhatri Bandi are excellent. Nafisa Ali is elegant as Jennifer, Nasser’s friend in the old-age home. Elisha Mayor as Naina is effortless as the femme fatale, Naina. Medha Shankar is mostly cloyingly annoying. but maybe that’s the problem with her role and character. However, Radha the cat is a silent rocker!
Heartfelt, heartwarming and not at all catty(!): that’s this sweet confection.
Rating: ***1/2
SSO Productions’ Max Min & Meowzaki Produced by: Samiksha Oswal & Shael Oswal Written & Directed By: Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy Music: Yug Bhusal Starring: Adil Hussain, Siddharth Menon, Medha Shankar, Vidhatri Bandi, Nasser, Nafisa Ali Sodhi, Mandira Bedi, Elisha Mayor, Roopak Saluja, Samiksha Oswal, Radha (the cat) & others
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