Movie Review: What The Fish is a good one time watch

Movie Review: What The Fish is a good one time watch
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You should not use her toilet. You should not sleep on her bed. You should not do this. You should not do that. Sudha Mihra (Dimple Kapadia), a 67-year-old divorcee, living in Vasantkunj Delhi blurts out a host of instructions to her niece's fiance before she is about to leave for a month-long trip to the US. In short, Sudha Mishra is a fusspot who trusts no one but herself. She even thinks her niece's fiancé Sumeet is not good enough for her. She even suspects that people around her could be performing black magic on her.

As Sudha is about to hand over the keys of her house to Sumeet, she announces the most important instruction that needs to be carried out daily for the next 30 days - to feed the fish and water the money plant. She dictates the exact time when her pet fish Mishti has to be fed and her money plant needs to be watered.

Sounds like a fun, fresh premise for a hilarious story to follow. In the next 30 days the most unpredictable things happen in Sudha's house. The house even changes ownership several times before the rightful owner returns. What follows is crazy situation where all kinds of people flit and float around in this house for a short duration. When Sudha returns after 30 days is the fish alive? Is the money plant still green and glowing? Some of the madness that results out of this confusion is funny but not all of it.

The good thing is the film is fast-paced and the scenes move quickly. Then you realize that so many motley characters have come and gone in this house that none really stays with you though most of them do play their parts well. None seem to have the 'extra something' to remain memorable after you have left the cinema hall. The film's narrative follows a non-linear pattern which is not so much of problem but after appearing to be a promising tale of what could happen, the film fails to surprise you anymore by the time it nears the climax.

The dialogue is very Delhi and some of it raises a few chuckles but it's nothing that you have not seen in other films based in Delhi. Dimple Kapadia is enjoyable to watch and she keeps you engaged every time she appears on the screen. Not all the other characters manage to do successfully. Having said that What The Fish is still a good one time watch and may be better than other fare that may be running in the cinema halls this week.