SSO Productions’ Max, Min & Meowzaki (English; UA) is the story of a dysfunctional family. Ramesh Mahadevan (Adil Hussain) has recently lost his wife and is missing her so much that he is now suffering from insomnia. He approaches shrink Dhaara (Mandira Bedi) who tries to help him face his demons so that he would be able to sleep. Incidentally, Ramesh Mahadevan had never gotten along with his wife till, a few months before passing away, she had told him that she was suffering from terminal cancer. Ramesh has a son, Mahesh (Siddharth Menon), who likes to call himself Max, much to his father’s irritation. Max lives separately and has a live-in girlfriend, Min (Medha Shankr), who is a Muslim. That his son is dating a Muslim girl doesn’t sit well with Ramesh Mahadevan because of his orthodox thinking. On the other hand, his wife used to have no problem with Max’s live-in partner being a Muslim. And that was just one of the many reasons for Ramesh and his wife to not get along with one another. Currently, Max is going through a bad phase because not only has his mother passed away but he is also going through a break-up with Min. Ramesh’s father, Sridhar Mahadevan (Nasser), is a well-known classical singer but his performances in mosques agitated Ramesh no end because of which there has been tension between father and son. Quite late in life, Sridhar finds a good friend in an old woman, Jennifer (Nafisa Ali).
Does Dhaara help Ramesh forge a warm relationship with his father and with his son? Does Max find a new girlfriend? Who is she? Or does Max make up with his erstwhile live-in partner, Min?
The story is pretty engaging and also entertaining. Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy’s screenplay is fast-paced and multi-layered. Hence the drama never gets boring. Rather, it keeps the viewers’ interest so alive that they are keen to know what is to follow. Having said that, it must be mentioned that the drama has more appeal for the city-based audience because it is too city-centric. Although it is about a young man, Max, romance in the traditional sense of the term is missing. Talk about dating apps, sittings with shrinks, an old man (Sridhar Mahadevan) pouring his heart out before an old woman (Jennifer) over drinks — all these are very city concepts which, even today, may seem alien or at least unusual to the viewers of ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres and also to non-metro city audience. Even the humour is quite city-centric. Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy’s dialogues (mostly in English) are very real and go perfectly well with the mood of the drama and the characters. However, the English dialogues greatly restrict the film’s appeal. The odd (and also difficult to pronounce) title is another minus point.
Siddharth Menon is supremely natural as Max. His performance is effortless. Medha Shankr is also very realistic in the role of Min. Adil Hussain lives the role of orthodox Tamil Brahmin Ramesh Mahadevan. Mandira Bedi lends a great deal of dignity to the character of Dhaara, with her performance. Vidhatri Bandi is wonderful in the role of Carol Sequeira. Nasser is very endearing as Sridhar Mahdevan. Nafisa Ali makes a fine mark as Jennifer. Elisha Mayor is excellent in a tiny role as Naina. Gitanjali Rao makes a good impression as Ramesh Mahadevan’s wife, Vasudha. B.S. Narayanaswamy (as Dr. Swamy), Samarjit Chandel (as Sriram), Arbaz Khan (as Vinny), Paul Varghese (as Kenneth), Meghana Telang (as the copywriter), Anna Joseph (as the recordist), Padma Damodaran (as Renuka), Manohar Iyer (as Seshadri), Anand Krishnan (as Rajan), Muthulakshmi G. (as Shyamala), Roopak Saluja (as Arijit Sen), Saleel Pathak (as the doctor), and the others provide impactful support. Cat Radha is cute in the role of Meowzaki.
Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy’s direction is mature and very good. His narration keeps the audience engaged throughout. Music (by Anandh Ranganathan, Nitin Dubey and Yug Bhusal) may not comprise songs of the popular variety but they do appeal. Lyrics (Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy and Himanshu Kohli) are nice. Anandh Ranganathan and Nitin Dubey’s background music is in synch with the mood of the drama. Nikhil Arolkar’s cinematography is very nice. Production designing (by Vijay Dulguch and Vinay Vishwakarma) is of a fair standard. Satyajeet Kelkar’s editing is razor-sharp.
On the whole, Max, Min & Meowzaki is a beautifully made film which has its heart in the right place. Its layered story and sensitive narration make it an interesting watch. If, in spite of the merits, the film doesn’t make much noise at the box-office, it would be because of lack of awareness about the film and its release, as well as lack of saleable faces in the cast, and the English title and dialogues.
Released on 24-7-’26 at Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Platoon One Distribution. Publicity & opening: weak. …….Also released all over. Opening was poor everywhere.