In the small town of Ooty, India, a toxic spill transforms people into blood-thirsty, fast running, wire-stunt performing zombies. Director Shakti Soundar Rajan takes a fairly typical zombie story, mixes in an unrequited love story, a dash of political observation, a Bollywood musical number, wire-stunts, and a good sense of humor about the whole thing to create a zombie film that doesn’t feel like it’s just hitting the tropes and its marks mechanically, it’s fast paced and fun while adding a special touch to its subject. The idea of mixing Bollywood style film with zombies might not seem like an obvious choice but here it works of course, the humor being quite on point adds to this and to the enjoyment overall.
This film is a bit crazy but it goes for it without shame or holding back, giving it a good vibe and atmosphere. The cast of Miruthan goes for it in terms of embracing the insanity of the film. Lead actor Jeyam Ravi as Karthik starts off a bit sheepish in presence, once the film advances and it becomes required, he becomes a leader, an example, a charismatic man who takes charge and works toward leading his ragtag group to their goal and safety. Playing opposite him and as his love interest Renuka, Lakshmi Menon shows emotions and adds a touch of strong femininity to a film dominated by male characters. In the part of Karthik’s best friend, the somewhat comedic release, Kaali Venkat does lighten the mood in many scenes, playing things less serious and being a bit goofier than the rest of the cast.
Lastly, the actress playing Karthik’s little sister, Vidhya, does a great job at being a linchpin to the action, her name is Baby Anikha. The cinematography by Srinivasan Venkatesh and the music by D. Imman flow well with the film, giving it a look and the sound that match the action and how the story develops. Their styles work great for the story and together, even then the film takes surprising turns such as the music video-like part where Karthik sings his heart out about his love for Renuka. That part of the film feels a bit out of place for those more used to American zombie movies, but it’s entertaining as can be and fun, adding an extra something to the film.
As this is a Bollywood film, the musical number fits right in and is surprisingly the only musical number in there. Mirtuhan is a film with a ton crammed in its runtime, it’s fast-paced, funny, has decent zombies, crazy fight scenes, an entertaining musical number, etc. The story goes by quite fast and the ending comes quickly and swiftly. The acting is on point for the genre, it’s a horror comedy that knows that zombies are overdone and that their source for zombifying has been used often in the past, but the characters and how they are interpreted bring the extra oomph along with those crazy stunts that the film needs.
Ithaca Fantastik 2016 runs from the 9th until the 13th of November 2016.