

A child from Lakshadweep sets off to Mumbai in pursuit of Akbar, an elder brother who left the island due to his sexual orientation.
Direction
Geethu Mohandas merges neorealism with fever-dream aesthetics.
Cinematography
Lakshadweep's turquoise vs. Mumbai's toxic neon.
Acting
Nivin Pauly's physical transformation is genuinely unsettling.

Director
Geethu Mohandas
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
First major Indian film to center queer identity within the masala underworld genre—Geethu Mohandas reportedly faced funding rejections for refusing to soften Akbar's sexuality.
The 'Moothon' title itself is a layered insult in Malayalam—roughly 'big boy' used to mock feminine men, reclaimed here as tragic armor. Nivin Pauly learned basic Mappila dialect and lost 10kg to physically shrink into Akbar's defeated frame.