BOTTOM LINE
Baboi Mouli
RATING
1.75/5
CENSOR
A, 2h 26m
What Is the Film About?
Mouli (Navdeep) an extraordinary painter, meets an Aghora on a trip into the wild. He expresses his dejection over true love and says it doesn’t exist. The Aghora conjures up a magical paintbrush and slips it into Mouli’s pack.
What happens when Mouli uses the magic paintbrush and brings to life the woman with qualities that he likes? The lesson Mouli learns about love, life and self is the movie’s basic
Performances
Navdeep is seen in a leading role after a long gap. In Love Mouli the actor essays a role that seems to be close to his heart and puts in a lot of effort, at least physically.
Within the work that Navdeep has done, Love Mouli is among the better ones. However, the effort is mostly dominated by his getup of long-grown hair and beard. The rough look and talk dominate most of the film in terms of the act. In a few key moments, he does well, compared to his past works.
Pankhuri Gidwani gets the role of a lifetime when seen on paper. It’s a role with multiple shades. However, when it comes to acting it all comes across as a kid participating in a fancy dress competition. It isn’t that she is bad, that’s not the case, but she is banal. And most of the work is taken care of by dubbing. The expressions relative to the variations the character presents are missing.
Analysis
Avaneendra directs Love Mouli. The promotions might have led to people assuming it’s an erotic romance or drama type, but Love Mouli is actually a fantasy romance.
As mentioned previously, Mouli has issues related to girls and love. He has dated many but is never satisfied and feels cheated. What happens when he is gifted with a painting brush to bring the girl of his choice to come alive is an interesting premise.
The theme dealt with here is relatable to youth for sure. Who is the perfect girl for a guy? The narrative basically deals with the answer to this question from a boy’s perspective. What he realises in the end is the movie’s climax.
Avaneendra sets the whole thing in a different backdrop of painting and a picturesque hill station. The visuals naturally lend to beauty and the team does a good job of capturing the locations.
Once the initial expectations are set, the hour towards the interval holds attention mildly keeping the theme in mind. Nothing happens, but there is a little curiosity as to where it’s headed. Also, writing in some parts is surprisingly fine and the targeted audience gets the ‘content’ they had come to watch.
However, things go on a downslide when the narrative resumes post-interval. It gets repetitive. The painting tool is understandable, but the way things happen doesn’t do anything to hold attention.
As the second half progresses, the narrative even becomes predictable. The same things are happening with a different focus. Conceptually it’s fine, but the impact via the execution is missing here.
The climax is alright after all the repetitive stuff, but it feels too late by then. Either one has lost interest or they don’t care about what’s happening at that time. Sadly, the climax is where the meat lies.
Overall, Love Mouli has a relatable theme wrapped up using a fantasy setup. It has a decent ending and some fun here and there. But, for the most part, it falls flat and fails to provide the gripping narrative required for it to work.
Performances by Others Actors
Love Mouli has limited character artists’ presence. Even the ones who are seen aren’t the usual names. They do well within the setup doing predictable stuff. Nothing stands out or is impressive, though.
Music and Other Departments?
Govinda Vasantha of 96 (Jaanu in Telugu) fame works as a music director for Love Mouli. The sound has quality and the background score is neat, but the movie misses the magic it badly needs from the songs.
The locations are such that it naturally lends beauty to the screen. The cinematographer captures them well. The editing gives the movie a patchy feel at times. The writing is inconsistent. Some parts have impactful words whereas others feel very routine.
Highlights?
Unique Premise With Fantasy Touch
Setting
Climax
Drawbacks?
Lots Of Drag
Repetitiveness
Length
Routine Drama
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Love Mouli Movie Review by M9
