Nivairoalhi

Nivairoalhi is a 2019 Maldivian film written and directed by Moomin Fuad. Produced by Niuma Mohamed under NiuXo Films, the film stars Yoosuf Shafeeu, Aminath Rishfa, Zeenath Abbas, Ahmed Saeed, Nashidha Mohamed and Ahmed Azmeel in pivotal roles. The film was released on 3 January 2019.

Cast

 * Niuma Mohamed as Maana
 * Yoosuf Shafeeu as Riffath
 * Ahmed Asim as Haidhar/Hardy
 * Aminath Rishfa
 * Zeenath Abbas as Nafeesa
 * Ahmed Saeed as Anwar
 * Nashidha Mohamed as Ainth
 * Ahmed Azmeel as Hassan
 * Mariyam Shakeela as Maana's mother
 * Aminath Rasheedha as Waheedha
 * Mariyam Haleem as Hardy's mother
 * Ismail Zahir
 * Ahmed Ziya
 * Ajnaz Ali
 * Ahmed Asif
 * Aminath Eshal Rasheed

Development
The film was announced on 20 October 2017 at a grand event held to celebrate Niuma Mohamed's twenty-years long career. Releasing the first look of the film, Mohamed declares her "onscreen retirement" and indicates the film to be her last of a movie release though she would "still continue to serve in the industry behind camera". A thirty seconds teaser was released on 22 November 2017 which featured a demoralized Mohamed shattering a glass by continuously hitting on forehead. Mohamed had earlier worked with director Moomin Fuad in the segment "Baiveriyaa" from the unreleased anthology film, Hatharu Halha which is the first Maldivian anthology film project.

It was earlier projected that filming will begin on 25 January 2018, although it was delayed, citing the need of "gaining weight to showcase the perfect physique the character" that Mohamed requires to portray. Filming commenced on 17 June 2018 at R. Inguraidhoo for a ten day schedule. All the indoor shots were completed during this schedule and filming for outdoor shots began on 11 July 2018 in Male'. An ensemble cast including Yoosuf Shafeeu, Aminath Rishfa, Zeenath Abbas, Ahmed Saeed, Nashidha Mohamed, Ahmed Azmeel, Mariyam Shakeela, Aminath Rasheedha and Mariyam Haleem were announced in a promotional event held on 10 April 2018.

Soundtrack
The first song of the film, "Reydhanve Mendhanve Dhandhen" which is sung by Mira Mohamed Majid and Falih Adam was released on 21 September 2018. Two promotional songs of the film were released prior to film release; Zoya's "Maa Rangalhu Vaaney" and Mira Mohamed Majid sung "Sihuru Fadhavi Kamana". The latter, directed and edited by Aishath Rishmy and Ravee Farooq was shot over eight days and was an instant hit upon release.

Release
The film was initially planned to release the film on Mohamed's birthday, 20 October 2018. However, the team later accelerated the release date to 19 October 2018 upon fan's request before pushing the project for an early 2019 release. On 27 September 2018, Mohamed confirmed that dubbing for the film is halted since she is suffering from laryngitis. Hence, the release date of the film was postponed to January 2019.

Response
Nivairoalhi received mostly positive reviews from critics. Aishath Maaha of Dho? favored the performance of the lead actors particularly praising Ahmed Asim's work to live his character. She also mentioned the "neat arrangement" of its screenplay though pointed out its "weak ending" to be unsatisfactory. Similar sentiments were echoed from Aminath Luba of Sun, where she picked Asim to be "outstanding" from the cast while others were thought to be "excellent". Luba also found the scene arrangement to be "gripping" while its ending to be "weak" considering the film as a whole.