''Loabi Vevijje'' is a 2023 Maldivian

romantic film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Ali Seezan Ali Seezan (born 6 February 1977) is a Maldivian film actor, editor, director and producer. He has established a career in Maldives Film Industry and is a recipient of two National Film Awards. Early life Ali Seezan was born on 6 February 1977. ...

. Produced by Shaniz Ali and Aminath Shanaaz under S Production, the film stars

Ahmed Nimal Ahmed Nimal is a Maldivian actor, director, editor, writer and producer. Early life Prior to acting in films, Nimal worked at Maldives Meteorological Service office. His interest in films and acting grew due to the influence of his colleagues inc ...

Aminath Rishfa Aminath Rishfa is a Maldivian actress. Career Rishfa made her screen debut in a video song, "Heela Beleema" starred opposite Mohamed Manik and produced by Udhares Latheef. After featuring in several short films and series, Rishfa collaborated w ...

Mariyam Azza Mariyam Azza (born 20 April 1989) is a Maldivian film actress. She is the daughter of actress Aminath Rasheedha and younger sister to actress turned director Aishath Rishmy Early life Born in Malé, Azza is the daughter of actress Aminath Rasheed ...

Ahmed Easa Ahmed Easa (born 7 October 1985) is a Maldivian film actor. Career In his childhood, Ahmed Easa watched Bollywood films and imitated the acting of Sunil Shetty in stage performances. While watching his movies, Easa grew a fondness towards cinema ...

Ali Azim Ali Azim is a Maldivian film actor. Career 2010–2016: Early releases Azim expressed his interest in acting at a very young age. Before he pursued a career in acting Azim worked as a dancer and stage performer. He was first recognized by the aud ...

and

Irufana Ibrahim Irufana Ibrahim is a Maldivian film actress. Career Ibrahim made her acting debut in a recurring role in the first Maldivian web-series, a romantic drama by Fathimath Nahula, ''Huvaa'' which initiated streaming in November 2018. The series consis ...

in pivotal roles. The film centers on a man who ends up becoming obsessed with a woman he has a one night stand with. The film was released on 3 May 2023.

Plot

The film follows a middle-aged man, Tholal (

) who lives an ordinary life with his devoted wife, Hasna (

) and their kid. Frustrated with the violent behavior of Hasna's younger brother, Haseeb (

), Tholal agrees on a pleasure trip to Sri Lanka offered by his friend, Maajidh (

), who has been secretly in love with Hasna. During this one week trip, Tholal meets a wealthy woman, Maasha (

) with whom he has an extramarital affair. After the trip, his obsession with Maasha threatens to uproot his marriage and everyday life.

Cast

as Tholal *

as Hasna *

as Maajidh *

as Maasha *

as Haseeb * Aminath Nisha *

as Jaufar *

Abdullah Shafiu Ibrahim Abdullah Shafiu Ibrahim is a Maldivian film actor and playback singer. Career Ibrahim made his film debut with the Dark Rain Entertainment production, the Ali Shifau-directed romantic comedy ''Vaashey Mashaa Ekee'' (2016) opposite Mohamed Jumayyi ...

as Hassan *

as Fazee * Yala Shaniz Ali * Naufal Naseem * Mohamed Akthar as a police officer *

Mohamed Manik Mohamed Manik (15 October 1969) is a Maldivian film actor and director. Career 2002–10: Critical acclaim and breakthrough Manik rose to widespread prominence in the television industry and was applauded for his performance in a dual role, Ahmed ...

(special appearance) *

Washiya Mohamed Washiya Mohamed (born 18 June 1999) is a Maldivian film actress. She made her career debut by playing one of the main roles in the sitcom web series, ''Thin Bibee'' (2019). She gained notice with the web series ''Ehenas'' and continued starring in ...

(special appearance) *

Khadheeja Ibrahim Didi Khadheeja Ibrahim Didi is a Maldivian film actress. Career Khadheeja Ibrahim Didi appeared in Abdul Faththaah's horror film ''Eynaa'', released in 2004, with Sheela Najeeb, Mohamed Manik, Ahmed Shah, Ibrahim Jihad and Nashidha Mohamed as one of si ...

(special appearance) *

Ibrahim Zaid Ali Ibrahim Zaid Ali (born 15 April 1978), commonly known as Kuda Ibbe is a Maldivian singer and music composer. Early life and career Since childhood, Ali had been listening to all genres of songs from Bollywood classical to hip-hop to heavy me ...

as Tholal's friend (special appearance)

Development

During the shooting of the film, '' Andhirikan'' (2020), on 26 September 2019, director Seezan announced the title of his upcoming film as ''Loabi Vevijje''. Pre-production of the film, including finalizing the script, songs recording and mixing was proceeded during the next two months. The film was officially launched on 11 December 2019. Filming commenced on 24 December 2019 in GDh. Thinadhoo and continued till 8 January 2020. Apart from Thinadhoo, some scenes of the film were shot in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

during March 2020. Filming was halted due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with two scenes pending to be shot in Male'. In May 2022, it was reported that

Aishath Rishmy Aishath Rishmy Rameez (born 15 November 1985) is a Maldivian actress film producer and director. Early life Born in Malé, Maldives, Rishmy is the daughter of actor Aminath Rasheedha. She is the elder sister of actress Mariyam Azza. They reside ...

was roped in to direct some songs of the film. With the indication of cinema re-opening, post COVID-19, the crew resumed the shoot of the remaining scenes of the film, including the songs in GDh. Thinadhoo.

Soundtrack

The first single of the film "Miss Veyey", a bonus song of the film's soundtrack album, performed by

Abdul Hannan Moosa Didi Abdul Hannan Moosa Didi (13 June 1959) is a Maldivian singer, music composer and producer. Early life and career At the age of seventeen, Didi started performing casually with his friends which helped him develop self-confidence and improve his ...

after a long hiatus, was released on 14 February 2021, on the occasion of Valentines Day.

Release

The film was scheduled for theatrical release for mid-2020, but was postponed due to the

. In January 2023, makers of the film announced that ''Loabi Vevijje'' will be released in theatres on 3 May 2023, as the second Maldivian film to be screened at Olympus Cinema, after its re-opening in February 2023. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Ahmed Nadheem from ''Dhauru'' while highlighting the cinematography by Ibrahim Moosa as the strongest pillar of the film wrote: "The opening teaser and the last scene in the rain is one of the few scenes no one would imagine to witness in Maldivian cinema". Further applauding the acting performance of

, Nadheem commended the creative team for taking a risk to present an "erotic thriller". Despite that, he criticized the screenplay for its "abrupt sequencing" and "inconsistent character development", weak dialogue dubbing and the "average" performance by the lead cast except for Azim. Aminath Luba reviewing from ''The Press'' praised the cinematography of the film and acting of

as the best offerings from the film, while pointing out some flaws in the editing and inclusion of too many songs "distracting".

References

{{Reflist Maldivian romantic drama films Upcoming films Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films directed by Ali Seezan Dhivehi-language films