‘Mogul Mowgli’ review; Dir. Bassam Tariq (2020) [LFF]

Following his acclaimed 2013 documentary These Birds Walk, filmmaker Bassam Tariq returns to filmmaking with his debut narrative Mogul Mowgli – starring Riz Ahmed as a music artist wrestling with a declining body (not to be confused with Ahmed’s other starring role as a musician doing the same in Sound of Metal).

Mogul Mowgli is one of the most distinctive films of 2020. Ahmed (also on co-producing and co-writing duties here) stars as rising rapper Zed. He’s on the verge of superstardom in New York, preparing to support a big artist on an upcoming tour across the world. However, before setting off on that venture, he returns to London to reconnect with his family for the first time in two years. Although fate has other plans for the rapper who’s struck down by a severe illness and hospitalised in his hometown due to a lack of muscle control, threatening to derail not only his place on the tour but his entire musical career.

While Mogul Mowgli is a reflection of Tariq and Ahmed’s own experiences growing up in Western culture with Pakistani and Islamic heritage, as Zed grapples with his place in his community, it’s also a movie about making it as an artist. Director Tariq retired from filmmaking after These Birds Walk to seek out a financially viable job to support his family so the script feels informed by his own career experiences too. Thankfully, he’s back telling stories and this is one underpinned by brilliant themes of family, love, and identity; in a world pulled apart by a pandemic, where connections feel lacking, Mogul Mowgli is here to remind us of the importance of staying connected to one’s roots and families.

I think many can perhaps relate to Zed’s identity crisis and anger at this moment in time and Ahmed plays the rapper with such ferocity and sincerity. The actor leaves his A-list status at the door to bare his soul in one of the best performances of his career to date. Zed’s backstory is so complex and tangly and the actor gets all of the emotional intricacies just right – hitting every emotional beat from seething rage to regret, anguish, and even hope. Also, Ahmed can spit bars and the scenes in which he raps are some of the film’s most scintillating and entertaining. You really believe every moment he is on the screen (which is the majority of the film). The supporting cast does leave something to be desired, wasted by a script that hones in entirely on Zed’s journey, but praise needs to be given to both Sudha Bhuchar and Alyy Khan who do a great job as Zed’s parents forced to reconcile with their estranged son and help him through his struggles.

Tariq and Ahmed’s script works so well because of its authenticity, nailing the bi-cultural experience of growing up in a Western society with a religious and cultural upbringing. For anyone of colour, it’s a film that will likely ring true in many ways. But the pair do a good job of ensuring that those that can’t relate as much aren’t alienated, weaving cultural context and religious ideas into a very accessible story about individuality and identity. There’s something for everyone here – whether it’s the religious connotaions or Zed chasing his dream or the family dynamic at the heart. Tightly helmed from Tariq and well-anchored by Ahmed, Mogul Mowgli is an electrifying debut with a fresh, vital voice that feels like it has something to say and does so in an enthralling way.

Mogul Mowgli will be screening in the 64th BFI London Film Festival (including regionally and on BFI Player) on 10^th & 13^th October (tickets: www.bfi.org.uk/lff), and on general release in the UK and Ireland from 30th October