Film Review Manorama Six Feet Under : Watch It Now

Finally a film which mum and I both agree on – Yup, Manorama Six Feet Under is definitely worth your time and your money. But then again thanks to the desi-mass appeal for fuck-all films like Dhamaal types, survival is practically next to impossible for praiseworthy attempts such as Dharm, 1971 and Manorama. Last I heard it’s out of most cinema halls in New Delhi, I guess other metro-cities would follow similar pattern, very soon.

Detailed Review of the film can be found here, since I am totally screwed up with time. However, I have jotted down couple of points, which I believe make Manorama a worthwhile watch.

A small town called Lakhot – I love it when a script narrates the story of not only its central characters but also allows their surroundings to play a lead as well. Lakhot gleams on its natural beauty yet miserably fails at hiding from its ugly present – corruption, scandal, conspiracy and murder.

Director Navdeep Singh – Difficult to believe this is his very first feature film, I guess former career in Advertising has finally paid off. Manorama is brilliantly stylized while paying attention to every little detail – from dessert mirages to enjoying simple pleasures of life, like a game of Ludo and Saap-Sidi. Though slow-paced at times, Mr. Singh still manages to hold the audience’s imagination and attention till the very (fantastic) climax. Besides the directorial effort, I believe Mr. Singh should also be given extra brownie points for choosing such a "non-filmy" title.

Actor Abhay Deol – Frankly, I can’t think of a single film where I didn’t like his performance. Guess the Dharmendra acting genes have stronger presence in nephew’s DNA and not the sons. (Apologies to dearest Sunny, I totally dig your “dhia-kilo ka haat” but have to agree, Abhay baba has talent.) The best bit I like about this guy is his selection of roles and how effortlessly he goes about performing them. Be it Ahista Ahista, Honeymoon Travels or Ek Chalis Ki Local, he isn’t afraid of doing hatke roles and that’s what make his efforts quite impressive.

The ever-brilliant, Vinay Pathak – Do I really need to sing his praises? Boss, he is mind-blowing as always. Love the way he relishes his daily dose of sweetness.

The wonderful ladies – Never thought I would actually have nice words to write about someone like Gul Panag but this woman has been impressive ever since Dor. In Monorama, though most of the time she is nagging her husband, you can never get yourself to hate her. I thought in the scene where she is sitting on the dining table and Abhay Deol enters beaten and bruised….any other actress would have easily gone overboard with her emotions but Gul dealt with it perfectly. On the other hand Raima Sen is good, though I felt her role was not sketched out that well.

On the whole, I found Manorama Six Feet Under to be one of the most gripping films I have seen this year. And so my advice would be, watch it now before its out and gone.