Manorama Six Feet Under
Created: 2008-03-17 22:56:33
Rating: 7
Type: Movie
Submitted by: Rohit
Brief Review: This is another low key thriller from Bollywood after "Johny Gaddar" and it is equally, if not less fascinating. Unlike almost all the hindi movie titles with meaningless sub-heading (e.g. Lucky - No Time for Love) here the movie stays true to its sub-heading 'In the desert nothing is as it seems'. So in 'Manorama 6 Feet Under' nothing is indeed as it seems. The movie is about a scandal brewing in a sleepy, mysterious desert town in Rajasthan. The protagonist is a a corrupt engineer (Abhay Deol) whose aspiration of being a novelist died with a dud novel "Manorama". In his mundane existance comes a woman knocking on his door requesting him to take pictures of his infidel husband for money. Thus begins a story that smartly unfolds the mystery and springs a lot of surprises.
The movie is clearly inspired by, if not a rip off of, Polanski's 'Chinatown'. In one scene you even see Chinatown playing on TV. The writing is clever, the visuals are impressive. The performances are subdued and let the story be the centerpiece of this enterprise. The movie sags a bit in the middle but last 30 minutes of the movie are gripping.
Coming to the performances, Abhay Deol gives a really subdued performance. Unlike the rest of the Deol clan he is never seen salivating at the site of dogs (Kutte mai tera khoon pi jaoonga) neither is he seen defeating the army of Pakistan with a massive roar. Gul Panag has a simple role but she does her part very well. Raima Sen is good. Sarika is stunning in the title role and Vinay Pathak is very entertaining. This guy can pull off anything with ease.
The songs are minimal. But the few that we have are pleasant and adequate for the screenplay.
In spite of its length (~ 2 hrs) 'Manorama 6 Feet Under' is entertaining. It's bizarre, dark, funny and it's thrilling. It has adult theme and content and it demands attention.
