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’s prime suspects are Bhakti and Rahul and starts digging deep 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 towards the third act in the second half the film becomes unnecessarily over convoluted and loses its path, and so does the audience. Towards the end unexpectedly the film becomes the overdose of emotions and talks about complexities of relationships. Even some of the generalized statements made by leads are just accepted in the film and not universally, so those cannot become the message through film. The performances of all three leads are apt and believable. In particular, Nana has shined in all his screen appearances, and that’s the only reason for which film is watchable. The story of the film is slow burning, and had some plot holes here and there, but can be neglected. The story had a potential to be one of the best murder mystery thrillers but unnecessary aspects, and cameos, and the weaker script does not let it happen.

Verdict : Plot is good but the end is not. Watch it only for Nana Patekar.

Rating : 3.5/5