Cast: Paresh Rawal, Naseerudin Shah, Om Puri, Boman Irani, Neha Dhupia, Tara Sharma

Director: Shivam Nair

Based on Paresh Rawal’s play of the same name, Maharathi presents a howdunnit: there’s a body in the deep freeze, and we all know the manner in which it ended up there, but the cops don’t.

Alcoholic film producer (Naseer) puts a gun to his head, much to the consternation of his gold-digger of a wife (Neha). Driver-cum-general dogsbody (Paresh) is present when the bullet finds a head, and the plush Persian carpet turns into a pool of blood. The body is stashed in an old-fashioned large deep freeze, with the intention of claiming crores from a couple of sources — a will, or a huge insurance policy, depending on whether it is deemed a suicide or a murder.

Nair’s second directorial venture, after his romantic Ahista Ahista, is a completely different film, reminding you of the classic closed-door murder mysteries of yore: the bungalow Naseer lives in is marked by expensive decay, the wife is appropriately attired in very few clothes, and Paresh appears to be alternately grasping and caring.

It’s a wonderful cast, and they all do their job well, but what’s missing from Maharathi is that crucial sense of danger. The film unspools minus ominous overtones: crimes of passion need edge, and Maharathi doesn’t have any.

shubhra.gupta@gmail.com