Mughizh movie review: This Vijay Sethupathi-starrer keeps you hooked with a few heartfelt moments

3/5

Story: A girl, who suffers from cynophobia, starts loving dogs after her father and mother surprise her with an adorable puppy. However, an unfortunate incident occurs due to her carelessness, leaving the three-member family shattered. The husband and wife come to terms with the reality, but their daughter finds it difficult to get over the untoward incident. 

Review: Karthik Swaminathan's Mughizh is Vijay Sethupathi's seventh film this year. Fortunately, the movie is different from the last few outings of the actor in every way. A slice-of-life movie, this is the kind of attempt which Kollywood has been staying away from, at least for a while. With a run time of one hour, the director has tried to incorporate a few relatable emotions, which will go down well with dog lovers. 

Kavya (Shreeja), a 12-year-old girl who suffers from cynophobia (fear of dogs), leads a happy life with her mother Radhika (Regina Cassandra) and father Vijay (Vijay Sethupathi). Though Vijay is an avid dog lover, he isn't keen on bringing one to his home as he is aware of her daughter's aversion to dogs. But he, along with Radhika, decide to deal with her phobia and surprise her with Scooby, a lovable puppy. 

Their happiness know no bounds as Kavya slowly becomes close to Scooby and becomes his best companion. But little did she expect that her recklessness would cost his life. Unable to bear Scooby's loss, she falls into depression, leaving Vijay and Radhika concerned. Will the grief-stricken family be able to get over the loss of their dear one?   

Though the plot appears to be simple on the surface level, the challenge for the director lies in the manner in which the emotions of three characters are handled. All the three of them - Vijay, Radhika and Kavya - deal with Scooby's loss in their own way. What makes the one-hour film engaging is the importance the director has given equally to each of them. 

Vijay is a practical person and someone who loves dogs the most among the three. But he has to lend his shoulders to both his wife and daughter who appear to have affected more amid his busy schedule in office.   

As a house wife, Radhika, on the other hand, has to console her emotional and aggressive daughter who refuses to go to school and complete the household chores. Kavya isn't sure how to deal with the guilt of allowing Scooby to go out of home because of which he met with an accident which lead to his death. 

She isn't even sure if her lovable parents would understand her pain, and she realizes that she is not able to express her suffering. The emotional struggles within themselves are beautifully depicted which overshadows the slow-paced narration and lack of conflict which is evident after a point.            

The cinematography by Sathya Ponmar and music by Revaa elevate the feel-good moments in the movie, thus allowing the viewers to connect more with the characters. The situations which span an hour's time do not come across as challenging for the characters essayed by Vijay and Regina. Shreeja, who made her debut with this film, comes up with an okayish performance. 

Verdict: Mughizh is streaming on Netflix.