Dhanashree Sudhakaran

Habeebi Movie Review: A Beautifully Rooted Portrayal Of Muslim Lives That Loses Its Way In The Second Half

Athulya Nambiar September 25, 2026 5 min read

Habeebi Movie Review: A Beautifully Rooted Portrayal Of Muslim Lives That Loses Its Way In The Second Half

Habeebi Review Rating:

Star Cast: Kasthuri Raja, Malavika Manoj, Esha M, Dhanasree Sudhakaran

Director: Meera Kathiravan

What’s Good: Plot, music, concept

What’s Bad: Second Half losing focus

Loo Break: Anytime

Watch or Not?: Definitely a worthy watch as each person will have different takeaways

Language: Tamil

Available On: Sony LIV

Runtime: 125 Minutes

User Rating:

Meera Kathiravan’s latest film, Habeebi, has now begun streaming on Sony LIV, a month after its theatrical release. The director’s latest film is an intimate portrayal of a Muslim family, their lives and relationships, and how they adapt to evolving times. Right at the beginning, the most standout element is the representation of Muslim lives in India. It is not overtly dramatic or pretentious, as is witnessed in most Indian films. Habeebi is a simple and rooted representation of the community while focusing on the needs, desires and ambitions of the people on screen.

Habeebi, when translated to English, means ‘My Dear’. The film focuses on the story of Mohammed Yousuf, who is the head of this Tamil Muslim family settled near Tirunelveli. The film’s central plot revolves around the love story between Abu Thahir (Esha M) and Nilofar (Malavika Manoj). Their young love causes a rift in the community and also impacts their lives individually. The film then follows Abu Thahir’s life and the long-lasting impact of a single incident on him.

Habeebi Movie Review: Script Analysis

The film centers on Yousuf (Kasthuri Raja) and his family. The story begins in 1980 and goes on till 2023. Yousuf runs a pit loom at his home, a business the family has operated for centuries. In fact, he says the sound of the pit loom became his childhood lullaby, a tradition he passed down to his kids as well. However, in the 80s, with the industrial revolution, machines were replacing looms. Even when Yousuf was not doing well with the looms, he refused to let go of the art.

His younger brother, like many other young people, opts to go to West Asia for better employment. This was the beginning of an era where the youth of India, especially in the South, explored opportunities in West Asia for financial stability. But this came at the cost of being away from their loved ones, including their partners, who continued to live a lonely life in their hometowns despite being married.

Meanwhile, the film’s central couple is Abu Thahir and his neighbor Nilofar. They fall in love with each other, but their conservative society, which values pride over feelings, never lets them be together. It reaches a point where Abu Thahir chooses to take up a theft charge instead of admitting his feelings for Nilofar to save her from societal shame.

The first half of the film is particularly poignant, exploring how people adapt to changing times. However, the second half struggles to stay focused and gets somber and confusing.

Habeebi Movie Review: Star Performance

Kasthuri Raja plays the patriarch who has a tough time letting go of his family’s pit loom business as machines take over. He is also not in favor of the youth traveling abroad, but eventually has to let go of his son as he follows the same path. He brings a lot of depth to the character of Yousuf, who is stern yet very caring towards his family, especially his son Abu Thahir.

Most of the other actors in the film are new, which lends an ordinary yet refreshing feel to the characters. It also helps convey the characters’ innocence. However, as time progresses and the characters’ emotions grow more complex, the new actors fail to convey them convincingly.

Habeebi Movie Review: Direction, Music

Meera Kathiravan and writer VS Mohammed Ammeen create a world that feels authentic rather than dramatic. In the first half, there is a beautiful portion where we see Yousuf’s younger brother, who is in Riyadh, sending audio cassettes to his wife describing how he misses her. In return, the wife sends back audio cassettes describing her day, providing updates on her family, and pouring out her heart about missing her partner.

It is one of the most beautiful portions of the film. This long-distance partnership is often missing from movies about men going abroad to work. We also see the rites and rituals of a typical Muslim family and how they seamlessly integrate into the story. The film also features elements of secularism and promotes it without being preachy.

While Abu Thahir and Nilofar’s love story is meant to be the central plot, in its hurry to rush through time, we do not get to engage with the couple or empathize with them. Instead, the second half lingers on scenes that could have been cut shorter, including Yousuf’s funeral.

An interesting element is the passage of time and how women in the community evolve. Malavika Manoj, as Nilofar, has barely any dialogue, except when she communicates with her female friends. Meanwhile, Parveena, who is Abu Thahir’s suitor later in the film, is an outspoken woman who promotes freedom of speech. Even though she wears an abaya, she believes in the power of words and conveys that silence does not necessarily mean obedience but can be a mark of disrespect. The film has many such interesting elements.

However, the second half falls flat and rushes through these elements, taking attention away from the central plot and our characters, with whom we fraternize in the first half.

Sam CS’s music is impactful and often drives the narrative forward, conveying our characters’ feelings. The music does some heavy lifting in portraying emotional moments in the film.

Habeebi Movie Review: The Last Word

It is definitely a great attempt at portraying the life of a Tamil-speaking Muslim family over the decades. Through their experiences, we get to experience several elements of their lives and how the community evolves with time.

If you really want to experience the 80s, maybe ChatGPT isn’t the way to do it. Give this beautiful film a chance.

2.5 stars!