Six Feet Under Chinatown

Manorama six feet under was on TV a couple of days back and I once again got glued. By the time the movie finished, it was already 1 am in the morning. Every time I watch this movie, the same thing repeats itself. I find it a fascinating, gripping tale that is equally fresh and enchanting every time. After finishing I just drifted to IMDB to check if others thought and felt about the movie the same way as I did. And indeed most people had rated it above 8 out of 10 but for one particular gentleman who had given it a one star calling it a blatant copy of the Roman Polanski's 'Chinatown'. So, I ended up watching 'Chinatown' with Jack Nicholson in blazing form.

This is one benefit of keeping an open mind, you often get introduced to extremely polarizing, yet mind and eye opening point of views and exactly why I love to do it, it helps me keep my 'world view' broad and avoid some of the common subconscious mistakes that we commit.

Anyways, without drifting from the topic, because of the above said review I consciously kept looking for similarities. What parts have been copied? What part of the plot lifted? So is it a copy? You decide! I will list my observations J (Spoiler Alert: You may want to stop here if not looking for spoilersJ)


The backdrops of the movies are different – a charming Los Angeles on the verge of a boom vs. the dry, rustic and haunting Rajasthan; but the set pieces are there.

1. The extremely powerful yet corrupt (morally too) politician/businessman.
2. The illicit daughter.
3. Pair of small time goons
4. A water controversy.
5. A murder investigation.
6. A fake wife who asks the detective to take up the investigation.
7. And of course, a very nosy detective.

As you might have noticed, there are a lot of similarities almost to the point of being called a copy. But in my opinion, if it's a copy it is a mighty good one. Even if you have seen Chinatown you will still enjoy Manorama. The director has cleverly taken the plot and wrapped it in a very Indian setting. The motivations of the murder and the victim are different in both. The original one has the protagonist as a detective; here he is actually a novelist who is reluctantly pulled into a murder investigation. I believe the director had anticipated that some of the viewers would have seen the original and would be anticipating the story to go a certain direction, so intelligently molded it to have a different yet believable ending.
And I guess there is a willingness from the director's perspective to accept Chinatown as the inspiration – there is a scene where the original is playing on TV. And while the narrative in Chinatown was suspenseful yet straightforward, it's more layered, more structured yet equally suspenseful in Six Feet Under. Abhay's character looks determined yet vulnerable as a reluctant detective while in contrast Jack Nicholson is flamboyant in his portrayal of a seasoned detective.
References in both movies are subtle, like I was wondering as to why the movie was named Chinatown just for a few references to Jack's character being a police officer in Chinatown but finally the climax is played out in Chinatown so looks justifiable. In Manorama, look out how Abhay's character establishes motive for the water project while talking casually to a daily wage laborer.
Also, I loved the detailing in Six Feet Under. Lookout for the nosy neighbors, then Vinay Pathak's policeman act and even now famous Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a small time goon.

Try both and let me know what you think J