Mogul Mowgli, 2020.
Directed by Bassam Tariq.
Starring Riz Ahmed, Alyy Khan, Anjana Vasan, Aiysha Hart, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Abdul Hakim Joy, Hussain Manawer, Nabhaan Rizwan, Sudha Bhuchar, Ali Barouti, Mitesh Soni, Jeff Mirza, Khariis Ubiaro and Afraz Hussain.
SYNOPSIS:
A British-Pakistani rapper is on the cusp of his first world tour, but is struck down by an illness that threatens to derail his big break.
From director Bassam Tariq (These Birds Walk), who teams up with star Riz Ahmed (The Night Of, Four Lions) for writing duties, comes Mogul Mowgli, a powerfully personal project for its lead. It details the story of British-Pakistani rapper Zed (Ahmed) – Zahir to his family – as he is struck down by a mystery auto-immune condition just before he is due to go on a potentially career-making tour. Ahmed himself also performs in this space, under his rapper moniker, Riz MC.
Mogul Mowgli touches on a lot of heavy topics – racism, immigration, colonialism, Partition, the pressure of family expectation – all tied up into examining Zed’s struggle to find a true sense of belonging and peace with himself. Rather than a heavy history lesson or lecture though, Mogul Mowgli an organic exploration of these themes and how they affect day-to-day existence. It also owes a lot of its impact to a riveting central performance from Riz Ahmed, an actor who is never less than outstanding, but shows a capacity here to pull from even profounder depths.
Despite the initial impression, Mogul Mowgli is less about the music aspect (although don’t worry, bars are spat) and more about a nuanced consideration of the bigger culture clashes at its heart. There’s plenty of space given to the relationship between Zed and his father, Bashir (a very strong Alyy Khan), and their difficulty in communicating and finding common ground. The most affecting aspect of their relationship is not anything as simple as a disagreement over rapping, but more the struggle over Zed having followed his passions when his father chose not to.
There’s also a great highlight of the struggles of juggling a modern career with a traditional background, when Zed is approached outside a mosque by a fan who is only too willing to criticise his perceived shortcomings while insisting on a selfie. An increasingly uncomfortable scene, this subtle “negging” feels authentic as a modern-day celebrity/fan exchange.
A stumbling point for Mogul Mowgli however, is an over-reliance on visual metaphors, which start to slightly swamp the film at times and make things a little harder to follow. Although they feed into Zed’s disorientation from his physical health struggles, they begin to feel a little less necessary. The depiction of Zed’s body failing him though, at a time when he would take its robustness for granted, is poignant, with two stand-out scenes in the toilet packing a particular emotional punch. And to take it to the next level of heartbreak, Ahmed has the chops to deliver (and co-write) one of the stand-out phone call acting scenes in recent memory, in a fertility clinic.
Mogul Mowgli also works well in depicting the pressure of working at the break-out level in the music industry, with no space to squander chances. Despite a supportive relationship with this manager (Anjana Vasan), Zed is forced to consider how his misfortune could benefit a rival, grilled rapper from the British-Pakistani community (Nabhaan Rizwan) – even if his example of music is rapping about ‘P***y Fried Chicken’.
A visceral and considered film, with a uniformly excellent cast, it somehow seems weird that Mogul Mowgli didn’t exist before, as personal to – and perfect for – linchpin Ahmed as it is.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Tori Brazier
