Melbourne: Filmmaker Geetu Mohandas' crime feature Moothon will serve as the closing film for the 2020 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).
The festival kickstarted here on October 23 with the virtual screening of the films Natkhat and Habaddi.
The festival, which is being held online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will screen 60 movies in 17 languages over the course of eight days.
Moothon features Malayalam actor Nivin Pauly in the lead, alongside Shashank Arora, Sobhita Dhulipala and Roshan Matthew, among others.
The movie revolves around a 14-year-old who travels to Mumbai from Lakshadweep in search of his elder brother but gets trapped in the underbelly of the city.
It has been co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, who has also penned the Hindi dialogues of the film.
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The crime thriller premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by the 21st Jio MAMI Mumbai Film festival, where it was the opening movie.
Moothon is Geetu's second feature, after "Liar's Dice" in 2014 which was India's official entry to the Oscars.
"It's poignant film that speaks to you at a very human level. At its core is a tender same sex love story, which touched our hearts. Yearning for your loved ones and feeling the pangs of separation has been a lingering mood this year," festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange said in a statement.
"There's no better time to watch 'Moothon'. We are elated to have the movie be the finale film at the festival because of its distinct voice and the narrative itself encapsulates the vibe of diversity which is so precious to us," she added.
The 11th edition of IFFM will run till October 30.
PTI Report
