A pair of aviators embedded in the
sand, backlit by the dusk. A
mustachioed Abhay Deol riding a Hero
Honda CD 100 on a never-ending
Rajasthan highway. A rugged-looking
Deol standing in front of a wall
plastered with political posters, and
giving a knowing smile. Abhay Deol and
Vinay Pathak sitting under a
chhatri and drinking whiskey
quarters from chai glasses. Two sleazy
goondas beating Deol
mercilessly on a sand dune. A
stone-cold-smooth politician who will
stop at nothing. And a haunting, eerie
soundtrack playing throughout the
movie. And this is what stays with
you, makes your hair stand at their
ends, till the movie is over.
SV, a.k.a. Satyaveer Singh (Abhay
Deol – VERY good, VERY convincing) is
a suspended PWD engineer, on charges
of corruption, in a small district of
Rajasthan called Jhunjhunu. SV
is not happy with his life, since he
always wanted to become a thriller
writer, but his first full-fledged
attempt Manorama sank without a trace,
and he has resorted to writing cheap
stories for a sleazy crime magazine.
He has a wife Nimmi (Gul Panag – very
convincing, though sometime her
convent English slips through, but
that’s negligible) and a four-year-old
kid. The wife constantly reminds him
of how she could have easily married
someone with a lot of money, and how
stupid he is to be tangled in
corruption charges.
SV
has a worldly-wise brother-in-law
Inspector Brijmohan (played by the
very talented Vinay Pathak, no more
introduction necessary) with a passion
for malpuas who sympathizes
with him, and even gives him a word of
wisdom, every now and then. SV and
Brij often spend their evenings on the
outskirts of the city, drinking cheap
whisky, smoking cigarettes, and
discussing married life and such
things.
One night, SV is approached by a
mysterious woman (Sarika –
unbelievably beautiful after all these
years, and looks the part – with the
proper accent and mannerisms) who
claims to be a big fan of his
disastrous debut Manorama, and the
wife of a sitting M.L.A. She wants him
to spy on her husband, since she
suspects he is cheating on her. SV is
taken aback and unsure, but takes the
job up anyway, since it will give him
a chance of redeeming himself of his
failure as a novelist. Nimmi does not
really approve, but she can’t stop her
highly motivated husband.
And so, SV daringly and stealthily
enters the M.L.A’s bungalow, and
clicks some pictures of the politician
arguing with an unidentified woman. He
gives the negatives to the mystery
lady, takes the money and gets on with
it. A job well done and well paid, he
takes his ever-complaining wife on a
‘second honeymoon’ to Jaipur on the
suggestion of his brother-in-law.
All
is going well, till he spots the
mystery woman in Jaipur, who refuses
to acknowledge him, and disappears in
the crowd. SV is very intrigued now,
and discusses this with Brijmohan over
a few drinks, who advises him to stay
the hell away, and mind his own
useless business. The same night, SV
meets the mystery woman, visibly
scared, but he is too drunk to
acknowledge the danger. The woman
whispers, “My name is Manorama, and I
am 32. Remember, that if something bad
happens to me”. SV just goes home, and
sleeps it off.
Next morning, SV finds out that the
mystery lady has committed suicide,
and is immediately intrigued. Thus, he
starts an investigation; his wife and
Brijmohan do not approve. He quickly
finds out the following things: he is
not invulnerable, the mystery lady was
not who she claimed she was and the
politician is knee-deep in many dark
deeds. I shall not say anymore because
I’d be giving out the entire story.
Navdeep Singh as a debutant
director comes out a winner. His
direction and an eye for detail are
everywhere. From the small government
office employees, pesky neighbors, the
subdued background noises (at one
point we hear “ arre chunnu ke
pappa, jaldi aao, chunnu ne fir se
tanki mein tatti
kar dee hai”), the public shots,
nothing looks unnatural. The actors do
exactly what they are supposed to do –
look the part! And no, you cannot tell
that they are actors. The actors
BECOME the characters (which I have
seen after a LONG time, maybe the last
movie to achieve this was Khosla Ka
Ghosla.)
Abhay Deol (SV) is a pleasure to
watch. The guy just blends in the
background, when he is supposed to.
For instance, there is an on-location
scene in the movie, and you actually
have to look hard to spot him! Also,
his dialogue delivery, expressions,
and mannerisms do look like he belongs
to a small town. The mustachioed look,
the leather jackets suit him to the T.
His voice is a tad too soft, but that
really is not important. The guy
delivers, and I have always maintained
that – he was really impressive with
his other two movies – Ek chaalis
Ki Local and Honeymoon Travels.
This is one actor who will go a long,
long way, as long he keeps doing
‘meaningful’ cinema.
Vinay Pathak (Inspector Brijmohan)
is one of the best actors to emerge in
the last couple of years (much like
his counterpart Ranveer Shouri) and
impresses with every scene; when he is
the complaining brother, or a man who
has seen it all, or a Police inspector
in a godforsaken small town. He is
far, far ahead of any other actor who
has ever played a small town
Rajasthani cop (with the exception of
Sanjay Dutt in Eklavya: the Royal
Guard) and his personal research
(if any) shows!
Gul
Panag (Nimmi) is very charming as the
small town housewife running a beauty
parlor. She wears ordinary clothes,
always covered with a home-knit
cardigan, cribs whenever she gets a
chance (not annoying at all), and is
protective of her husband at the same
time. True, the movie belongs to Abhay
Deol, but Gul Panag does prove again
that she is an actor (Dor and
Dhoop).
Raima Sen (Nitu) is a delight to
watch, again. Though I can’t remember
her doing a bad job ever, and again,
she doesn’t have much to do in the
movie except a lot of eye-play, and
look drop-dead gorgeous, she succeeds
in doing what she is supposed to.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda (politician) is
menacing; cold, and suave, all at
once.
Overall, Manorama Six Feet Under
is a brilliant movie, in my opinion.
Yes, the movie lacked pace in the
second half, somehow, even dragging
its feet at times, but it had me and
others in the audience glued to our
seats in apprehension nonetheless.
Arbind Kannabiran as a cinematographer
shows what he could not in Loins of
Punjab, and makes ample use of the
dusty streets, barren deserts, and
crowds. Simply brilliant, and shot as
it should be.
This is one movie not for the
masses, since it has a complicated
plot, and intelligent dialogue, and no
masala. I’ll even go ahead and
say that if ever I
was to be cast in a movie, I’d want to
be in a movie like this.
‘nuff said.
