Friday, 21st July 10:10 AM IST

MANJHI THE MOUNTAIN MAN Is Gripping And Inspiring Social Saga

Pluses:

Minuses:

below par editing, film drags a bit in initial portions of 2nd half

Critic Rating:

4.5/5

Business Rating:

1.5/5

Verdict:

Watch it for extremely inspiring true story

Detailed Analysis:

 'Manjhi The Mounain Man' is another biopic by Ketan Mehta after his acclaimed last film 'Rang Rasiya' and it is the most cursed genre in Bollywood as not many such films made mark at box office. 

Film tells In the 1960s Dashrath Manjhi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) lived in a small village Gehlaur near Gaya, Bihar, India with him family including his wife Phaguniya Devi (Radhika Apte). There was a rocky mountain near his village that people either had to climb across or travel round to gain access to medical care at the nearest town Wazirganj. One day Manjhi's wife fell while trying to cross the mountain, after which Manjhi decided to carve a road through it. When he started hammering the hill people called him a lunatic but that only steeled his resolve further. After 22 years of back-breaking labour, Manjhi carved a path 360 feet long, 25 feet deep in places and 30 feet wide. Film also depicts atrocities of upper cast and land lords in early years of Independence. Manjhi also becomes the hero of people from lower caste.

Performance wise Nawazuddin Siddquie is outstanding and his growth as an actor is tremendous. He has exceptional capability of infusing humor even in a dry screenplay/scene. Radhika Apte is slowly but steadily emerging as face of offbeat cinema with one good performance after another. Tigmanshu Dhulia is menacing and Pankaj Triptahi is good. Rest of the supporting cast adds to the film.

Film has interesting plot but screenplay meanders a bit in 2nd half. Dialogues are good but at times it went overboard. Film has below par editing. Music is pathetic. Cinematography is excellent and production design is authentic.

Director Ketan Mehta deserves accolades as he dares to pick such an inspiring story which has no typical glamor and box office potential. After all cinema is not all about weekends and records, its abut telling story which should be told and this was one such story.

Film will release today and it might struggle as it had rather dry promo. Film will depend on reviews and word of mouth. Looks like a tough ride ahead at box office !

Go for this one for some solid content and awesome performances!