The Times of India TNN, Jun 12, 2026, 9:20 AM IST
Habeebi Movie Synopsis: Across four decades in a Tamil Muslim weaving town, a young man carries an unspoken love as his family's handloom trade dies out.
Habeebi Movie Review
Every community has its doubters and its half-believers, the people who sit through the rituals out of duty more than conviction. Habeebi has none of them. Meera Kathiravan's period drama is so uniformly devout that its Tamil Muslim world near Tirunelveli comes to feel less like somewhere people live than somewhere they are lovingly put on display.
Underneath all that piety sits a sturdier story, one that runs across four decades. Yousuf (Kasthoori Raja) is the old weaver who believes his son Abuthahir (Esha) will keep the looms running, even as machines make the trade worthless and the younger men leave for the Gulf. Abu has other plans, and a heart set on his cousin Nilofar (Malavika Monoj), who belongs to a higher rung of the same community and is therefore just out of reach. He never quite finds the words, the years pass, and the family slowly trades its handlooms for foreign pay cheques.
The texture is the draw. Mahesh Muthuswami's camera makes the period feel lived-in, and Sam CS's songs sit nicely against the era. But the film leans so heavily on its warm, sentimental mood, the mosque, the food, the endless get-togethers, that the love story at its centre struggles to register as anything more than backdrop.
It also wants for friction, with no antagonist and no real obstacle beyond circumstance. A little more distance, a little less reverence, would have let the romance breathe.
The actors play it straight throughout. Kasthoori Raja gives the ageing weaver a worn, stubborn dignity, and Esha carries Abu's long arc from lovesick teenager to weary returnee without ever pushing too hard. Malavika Monoj brings a gentle reserve, in keeping with the social norms of the time.
Habeebi is sincere and often lovely to look at, and viewers who know this world from the inside may find plenty to hold on to. For everyone else, the goodwill is easier to admire than to feel.
Written By: Abhinav Subramanian
Cast
- Esha as Actress
- Kasthuri Raja as Director
- Malavika Manoj as Actress
- Anusreya Rajan as Actress
- Meera Kathiravan as Producer, Director, Writer
Rating
Critic's Rating: 2.5/5 | Users' Rating: 2.5/5
