Sabse Bada Machhli Kaun?. Review on Manorama Six Feet Under

I had wanted to see this film ever since the promos started airing.; it looked like a genuine suspense film, unlike hindi suspense films that have absolutely no sense of building suspense and resolving it satisfactorily. So much for suspense.I was not disappointed in that respect. However the pace of the film is surprisingly slow. It wasn’t painfully so however; events did unfold, at however sedate a pace and it was enough to stop you from bickering seriously.

Randhawa is  a full-time government employee and part-time writer of detective fiction. The latter is where his heart lies (yes, just in case you were wondering if it wasn’t actually in the earnest carrying-out of his government duties). He has just been suspended for accepting a bribe however, and though his wife supports him sincerely, pepping him up by saying that he was just naïve enough to get caught, he is not happy. Also he is nursing the bitterness of his first failure as a writer of detective fiction ( a “flop” novel called Manorama). He is therefore duly enthused when a mysterious lady appears at his doorstep to hire him as a real-life detective. Donning the new-found role seriously, he plunges into the seemingly simple task only to discover later that things are not what they seem. Aha! Now he gets to play a real detective. Oooookay. So far, so trite. But wait, things are just beginning to get juicy. The lady dies and each step of his in an independent investigation leads to something even more baffling.

Abhay Deol as Randhawa, the mild and unremarkable detective is convincing and lends a certain something to this character that might otherwise have ended up looking insipid. Gul Panag, as the wife, is a treat in the rather small role. Their relationship is well-delineated in a light-hearted manner. There is also the ever-reliable Vinay Pathak as the brother-in-law  of Randhawa. He is funny just as you might expect. In fact, the film’s pace is greatly bolstered by a simple humour that is relatable. Kharbanda as the baddie is suitably Yuck.

So my plea is this : don’t give up on the film too soon. It packs quite a wallop in the end that is perhaps all the more effective because of the slow deliberate route it takes. It gives you a very satisfactory sense of being avenged, even if only vicariously, on screen. God, the venom we harbour towards our netas! It is only too apparent towards the climax of this film. I think that is one common binding factor for us Indians. They might succeed in fudging the issue every so often but when someone gives it to them, there is nothing so deeply satisfying. So watch it for the Hah! Take that! Not such a big fish, are you now Mr Politician?