Aapla Manus (a dear/loved one) is the mystery-thriller Marathi film produced by Ajay Devgn & directed by Satish Rajwade who is well known for his peculiar take on romance-drama films in Marathi.

The film’s plot is very simple, sharp and ruthless Sr Inspector Maruti Nagargoje (Nana Patekar) is investigating a case of fatal accident happened with an old man, who is living with his son Rahul (Sumeet Raghavan) and daughter-in-law Bhakti (Iravati Harshe). Being an investigating officer of the case, Maruti starts his investigation with Rahul and Bhakti, and tries to dig down in their lives & their relationships with each other. These mind game played by Maruti to find the culprit goes on and on and keeps the audience guessing whether its an accident or attempt to suicide or attempt to murder.

As the genre and the trailer of the film suggested it’s a murder mystery, and yes in the first half film delivers exactly the same; But in the second half, the film becomes unnecessarily over convoluted and loses its path, and so does the audience. Towards the end, the film becomes the overdose of emotions and talks about complexities of relationships. Even some of the generalized statements made by leads can be accepted in the film but not universally, so those cannot be considered as the message of the film. The performances of all three leads are apt and believable. In particular, Nana has shines throughout, and that’s the only reason for which film can be watchable. The story of the film is slow burning, and had some plot holes here and there, but can be neglected. The story had the potential to be one of the best murder mystery thrillers but unnecessary aspects, useless cameos, and the weaker script does not let that happen.

Verdict : Plot is good but the end is mediocre. Watch it only for Nana Patekar.

Rating : 3.5/5