Hatharu Manzaru
Maldivian short film anthology from Ramadan 1442.
Hatharu Manzaru is a Maldivian short film anthology series from 2021, produced and released by Raajje TV during the month of Ramadan 1442. The series is made up of four segments: Hayaaiy, Ruqyah, Fulhi, and Naama.
In Hayaaiy, a taxi driver named Solah, who is divorced and has a seven-year-old son, is asked by his mother Zahira to care for his grumpy, disabled father Nashidh. Solah reluctantly agrees. His uncle Rasheed guides him, but Solah struggles with his father's harsh words while also trying to manage things with his ex-wife Muna and their son Suleiman. Eventually, Solah realizes he is becoming a mirror image of Nashidh, the person he dislikes most.
Ruqyah follows Adhila, a young woman with a difficult relationship with her younger sister Zeena. Adhila begins having trouble sleeping, and her husband Easa brings home Usman to perform ruqyah. When Zeena suspects that Usman and Easa are torturing her sister in a locked room under the guise of ruqyah, Usman manipulates everyone into believing the women are possessed by evil jinn. The women are sexually, physically, and psychologically abused in the name of punishing the jinn, including beatings, being treated as a slave, denied adequate food, and deprived of sleep.
In Fulhi, Reesha is a married woman separated from her husband Zaidh, who is desperate to win her back. One night, a glass bottle appears at her doorstep and becomes a nightly fixture, following her from work to home until she becomes mentally disturbed. Frightened, Reesha reconciles with Zaidh and returns to his house, disappointing Wadde, the sorcerer behind the evil.
Naama features a middle-aged man who receives a flash drive containing a video recording of a young man describing a strange incident. In the video, the young man is accompanied by a random woman he met late one night on the beach of Hulhumale'. The video ends when the harassed individual is killed by the woman as he tries to use a spell against her with his brother's help. After watching the video, the viewer finds himself trapped in the young man's vision.
For the Ruqyah segment, screenwriter Mahdi Ahmed and director Abdulla Muaz visited a one-room apartment to plan how to visually spread the narrative within that space, and the entire segment was filmed there. The director initially cast two other actors for the lead roles, but due to scheduling conflicts, he later brought
- field
- Short film anthology series
- nationality
- Maldivian
- known_for
- Four-part anthology released during Ramadan 1442
- producer
- Raajje TV
- year
- 2021
Lore & Background
The series was produced and distributed by Raajje TV. The first segment, Hayaaiy, was released on 16 April 2021 and follows Solah, a divorced taxi driver and father, who reluctantly cares for his grumpy, handicapped father Nashidh. The second segment, Ruqyah, released on 23 April 2021, depicts a young woman named Adhila who suffers from a sleeping disorder; her husband brings in a man to perform ruqyah, leading to abuse under the guise of exorcism. The third film, Fulhi, released on 30 April 2021, centers on Reesha, a married woman separated from her husband, who is haunted by a glass bottle and eventually reconciles with her husband, only to discover a sorcerer behind the events. The final segment, Naama, involves a middle-aged man who receives a flash drive containing a video of a young man narrating a strange encounter with a woman on a beach, ending with the viewer becoming trapped in the vision.
Reader's Guide
Hatharu Manzaru is significant as a Maldivian anthology series that aired during Ramadan 1442, offering a mix of family drama and horror. The segment Ruqyah received positive reviews for its realistic and elaborative presentation of the recent fake ruqyah practice performed by two individuals from R. Dhuvaafaru. The series was noted for its portrayal of horror in a realistic way, departing from regular local flicks. The development of Ruqyah involved the screenwriter Mahdi Ahmed and director Abdulla Muaz visiting a one-room apartment to plan the visual narrative, and the entire segment was filmed there. Initially, two other actors were cast for the leading roles, but scheduling conflicts led to the casting of off-screen sisters Aishath Rishmy and Mariyam Azza. The series' legacy lies in its critical acclaim for realistic storytelling and its exploration of contemporary social issues such as fake exorcism practices.
Did You Know?
- The segment Ruqyah was filmed entirely inside a one-room apartment.
- Aishath Rishmy and Mariyam Azza, who played sisters in Ruqyah, are off-screen sisters.
- The initial segment Hayaaiy was released on 16 April 2021.
- The series was produced and distributed by Raajje TV during Ramadan 1442.
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