Moshari Review: Bangladesh's first Oscar-qualifying short creates dystopian horror out of mosquito nets

Riz Ahmed, actor, rapper, and the global cinema's crusader of Islamic representation, picked up his first Oscar this year in the Best Live Action Short category for The Long Goodbye, a gripping look at the struggles of Britain’s Muslim immigrants. The short film found Ahmed doubling as lead actor and producer. 

Now, the Pakistani-origin Britisher might repeat the feat next year as he has been roped in as an executive producer for the Bangladeshi short Moshari (Mosquito Net). Another high-profile name to be attached in the same role is contemporary horror auteur Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, and more recently, Nope). But despite Ahmed and Peele’s support, Moshari deserves acclaim for its own merit. 

In fact, director Nuhash Humayun (also writer-editor-VFX artist) has made Moshari available for free on Vimeo, complete with subtitles and 4K resolution. The 22-minute-long short has already made history as the first Bangladeshi film (in any format) to qualify for the Oscars. 

While Moshari would have to go through a few more rounds before it makes it to the final Oscar shortlist, it has already won acclaim at mainstream festivals and Oscar-qualifying competitions, notably picking up a Grand Jury award for Best Midnight Short at SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin, Texas. 

It can be argued that Moshari’s haunting visuals of the marshlands and murky corners of Bangladesh might cater to the elitist standards of "Third World exoticisation" by West-dominated award juries. However, in this case, Humayun pulls off his dystopian tale with enough sensitivity and passion.

Set in an unspecified time in future, the world of Moshari is being actively colonised by lethal mosquitos. Blaring loudspeakers announce that even the West has crumbled under the blood-suckers, ironically adding how the Third World has had better chances of survival with seemingly rudimentary means of protection like the titular mosquito net. 

The ‘moshari’ has become something of a quarantine tool with panicking Bangladeshis covering themselves in the nets whenever the sun starts going down. The threat might just include mosquitoes but they are treated with the same fear as zombies or vampires, with Humayun’s direction charting some survival horror territories.

Two sisters serve as the protagonists in the bleak wasteland that Dhaka has turned into, trying their best to survive even though the deadly beasts continue to hover around them. Thankfully, Humayun doesn’t resort to any cheap tactics like showing giant mosquitos (although that would make for an interesting B-grade creature feature) and rather goes down a more metaphorical route that would be subjective for different viewers.

Rather than the visual terror, atmospheric tension plays a key role in Moshari’s attempts at horror. And right from the opening minutes, you would want to pat Dameer Khan’s back for coming up with that anxiety-inducing score. For the ones who might get too involved with Khan’s background music might just end up hearing it whenever a mosquito buzzes around them next!

Much like most of the dystopian cinema in the post-pandemic period, undertones of the lockdown are bound to arise even here. Further, it goes on to show how new-age directors are arousing fear from the seemingly trivial offerings of nature that can take down civilisations. For if the world stopped functioning from microscopic viruses, even mosquitoes (who are also the carrier of your deadliest viruses) can end humanity one day. After all, geological evidence suggests that even ancestral mosquitoes too might have fed on dinosaur blood and carried the malaria virus. 

But Moshari doesn’t just make you think about mosquitoes; it also serves as a subtle allegory on climate change. As stated earlier, there are indirect references to the First World-Third World debate, implying that sometimes even Western-centric technology can fail against natural threats. Both the so-called “worlds” would collapse with the ongoing environmental destruction or whatever sequel the Covid pandemic comes up with. But whoever survives might have to face the wrath of nature in a post-apocalyptic fashion as Moshari attempts to show. 

Given that there are several other Oscar-qualifying shorts in the competition right now, it is difficult to ascertain if Moshari would be outstanding enough for the members of the Academy. But as Bangladesh’s debut, it is a stunning entry with its director highlighting his country’s grim visuals but for building a catastrophic environment and not for the purposes of poverty porn. 

While households in even developing nations have started resorting to mosquito repellent sprays and liquid machines, here’s hoping that Moshari’s success might lead to a renewed interest and profits for mosquito-net makers!

We’re going with 3.5 stars out of 5 for Moshari.