Mogul Mowgli (2020)

Directed by Bassam Tariq. Starring Riz Ahmed, Alyy Khan, Anjana Vasam, Sudha Bhuchar, Nabhaan Rizwan, Hussain Manawer, Aiysha Hart, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Andrea Hart, Jeff Mirza.

On the surface, it sounds like a rehash role for Riz Ahmed—a music artist who’s suddenly struck down by what could be a career-ending affliction—but it’s more firmly affixed to identity, assimilation, and the immigrant experience than his stunning turn in Sound of Metal. He’s Zed, a British-Pakistani rapper based in America who suddenly finds himself feeling lost and helpless after he’s diagnosed with a degenerative disease. Filled with hallucinatory symbols and visions, but so little context is provided that it’s unclear to outsiders if the filmmakers are tapping into aspects of Zed’s cultural heritage/beliefs or if they’re simply being self-consciously indulgent. The more universal themes, on the other hand, are handled in familiar (even obvious) ways, which means that the vulnerability and cross-cultural relatability of Ahmed’s protagonist is all that holds the whole thing together. He’s up to the task, but the surrounding material doesn’t support him as well as one would hope, and his strained father-son relationship with Alyy Khan is the only one that seems to get more than cursory attention; where an ex-girlfriend (Aiysha Hart), rival rapper (Rizwan), and others fit in to his life is more elusive. Ahmed co-wrote the screenplay with director Tariq, and co-produced as well.

63/100