When promos of 'Manorama: Six Feet Under' started rolling on TV screen followed by the designer booklet, I thought Abhay Deol has finally got a place that he deserved. However, it's not so. Though his work was appreciated in 'Ahista Ahista' and 'Ek Chalis Ki Last Local', I still thought that this Deol kid deserved more. 'Manorama: Six Feet Under' is publicized as a film from the now forgotten genre in Hindi Cinema. No film would have been better for him than a thriller at this juncture of his career. He has a fan following in multiplexes, and in a small budget project the people in industry prefer him to Shreyas Talpade or Kunal Khemu or Sharman Joshi.
He can take a film on his shoulders provided he gets the script right. And, 'Manorama: Six Feet Under' trips on this point. The film is no doubt a visual treat to watch with some brilliant photography by Arvind Kannabiran. But, the industry needs some good and new technicians with so many projects happening their way. 'Manorama: Six Feet Under' is directed by a debutant Navdeep Singh, and being a new comer he should have got the narration proper. However, he has failed. He made a thriller at a time when every one is crazy about comedies and dares not come out with something substantial. The flaw lies also on the part of the maker ( Shemaroo ) , who possesses one of the biggest Bollywood Library , but regrettably fails to use it .
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'Manorama: Six Feet Under' revolves around Abhay Deol who plays SV, an engineer by profession. However, he is a writer by passion. His passion is to write detective fiction series, but fails in writing for suspense and crime magazines. The story idea is added with the twist when a woman (Sarika) supposed to be the wife of a local politician (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), contacts him.
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He is offered a job that has been actually made for the hero of his stories and novels (in fiction), but he is tempted to take it in real life. The job is not easy and involves a great risk for SV in an alien land. Thus SV falls in a trap. And, one doomed day, the woman who put SV on the assignment is found murdered. The mystery further gets a twist when SV comes to know that the whole story is not what he was told about. From here starts a real murder mystery drama.
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'Manorama: Six Feet Under' needed more aptness in handling a project and Navdeep must have done everything possible in this regard. However, he hasn't done so and hasn't also failed in availing the services of the script supervisor given to him as the credits show. It is the script that makes 'Manorama: Six Feet Under' go more than this depth at the box office. The film doesn't have faces to attract but for a film like this even an opening of more than 50 percent is not a bad sign.
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If the film could cash on the first visuals on small screen, the film was sure to get word of mouth publicity. The film not only fails at the script level but also in the casting. If the writers had failed in taking note of small things, the director should have remembered to utilize every artist for what he had signed him or her. In a thriller it's a must that the story moves near the climax. The viewer must know the answers of all the questions that are raised in the middle of the story.
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But, details of pictures shown in the film and the motive of the attacks are never explained! How will a viewer connect to the story, if he is not being made part of the story? There is no doubt that as a director Navdeep has the ability to deliver but being the captain of the ship he should have taken care of the rest of the team as well. The film not only lacks in good casting balance but the casting has also gone haywire.
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The national award winner Sarika is wasted and the same is true of Gul Panag. Both of them are good actresses and had they been given substantial roles, they could have done wonders for the characters. The only actor who leaves an impact in the film is Vinay Pathak. He comes out as a real winner in the film, and takes away the sheen from Abhay Deol and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Abhay had a chance to leap for the stardom in the film, but 'Manorama: Six Feet Under' is a good attempt gone haywire. Better luck next time, Abhay!
