POPCORN REVIEWSS

Written by Narasimhamurthy Padmakumar, the biggest strength of the film Max Min And Meowzaki offers an early nod to the recently released Hindi show Family Therapy (2025), particularly with respect to the character of Ramesh (Adil Hussain). And it is interesting on how his bout of trauma and grief connects and ironically distances himself from his son Max (whom he likes calling as Mahesh). Here the character of Ramesh resembles an onion – offers layers to him. You can sense with his interactions with his psychiatrist Dhaara (Mandira Bedi) that he has lived a life of an alpha-male – being a topper of his batch in IIT Madras, starting a business of his own, and wanting his son to assist him there. This dominance is all that he has learnt in life, but suddenly when his power center is compromised in the form of the passing away of his wife, and being distanced from his son – is when he is forced to opt for therapy.

One of the core dynamics of the drama is that between the frosty bond shared between Max and his father. In fact, Max is someone modelled on the lines of a man-child character from Wake Up Sid (2009) – having a mind of his own but never on the same page as his father. You can sense that his heart lies elsewhere, not wanting to handle his family business much to the annoyance of his father, while focusing on singing for ad jingles. And given that his family has had a history of classical Carnatic music, makes his father even more annoyed.

But the protagonist doesn’t wish to budge, ironically only compromising in the ‘confused’ matters of love that sees him trying to opt for rebound dates, but desperately running away from them. And it is interesting also on the reason why Min distances herself from him is because she doesn’t wish to stay with a man-child, instead choosing to stay with a matured ‘married’ man who would also help her fulfill her ambition. So essentially, Min is modelled on the lines of Aisha Banerjee from Wake Up Sid (2009), except that she mirrors the psyche of Max. This basically means that while she doesn’t want to stay with him, she still emotionally clings onto his persona while being protective about him. That also explains why she left Meowzaki with him despite being very close to the furry animal, because he didn’t want to break down following their breakup – something that coincided with his mother’s death.

One of the recurring themes of the drama remains the generational gap between the characters, something that defines their identity and actions. For instance when you are introduced to the grandfather of Max, Sridhar (Nassar) – you see him grappling with loneliness in his last leg of life, something that makes him seek for companionship with an elderly dementia-stricken lady Jennifer (Nafisa Ali). And you just witness the warmth of the bond that Sridhar shares with Max – being his buddy more than a patriarch, and fleetingly joking with him on how all the men of his family are now single – following the breakup of Max, and the demise of Max’s mother.

But ironically in a moving scene, you see Sridhar confessing on how he wasn’t a good father to Ramesh – being emotionally distant with him as a child. Interestingly, even Ramesh finds himself at similar crossroads – being emotionally distanced from his son whom he meets just on Sundays for breakfast, while being in disagreement with him on most aspects of life. The marginal political commentary prevalent that is even more relevant today, forms the fabric of their relationship too – with Max being the liberal Gen-Z who doesn’t wish to restrict his thoughts and ideologies beyond the regular inflammatory Whatsapp forwards unlike his father, who has formed an opinion based on the online University of Whatsapp. The generational gap is echoed through a searing political commentary that has finally formed a steady voice in the Capital, as I type.

It is interesting on how the core theme of the drama remains that of mental health and healing, as viewed through the POV of most characters. For instance, the only core memory that Jennifer holds onto is about her twin-brothers who aren’t around in the last leg of her life. Or perhaps in hindsight, she remains the luckiest one given how her dementia prevents her from holding onto any painful memories. For her granddaughter Carol (Vidhatri Bandi), it remains about escapism from pain – the pain of surviving a broken marriage, or losing her parents, or being involved in a relationship with a married man who hasn’t committed to their future. The escapism is in the form of baby-sitting her furry creatures that in turn brings her in contact with Max, another character coping with loss while turning towards bad dates and films of Miyazaki to heal. The same holds true for Ramesh and Sridhar as well – two similarly-shaped up characters who have guilt mixed with regret, only for realisation to kick in at a much later stage.

In many ways, the drama acts as a coming of age tale for all these characters – offering them perspectives of life, and allowing them space to heal. And all of these contribute to bittersweet moments that tingle and gently tug the strings of your heart. The screenplay in many ways felt like a bout of therapy, offering a reminder on the setbacks of life that don’t have a merit in the long run, and the art of letting go, while focusing on the smaller celebrations of life that in turn trigger a healing mechanism within each one of us. Just like the mystical films of Hayao Miyazaki that allow you to believe in the magic of life, despite its imperfections.