TheReviewMonk
13 December 2013Hindi108 min

What The Fish

3.818 reviews
CriticsUnfavorable

Bayesian avg · 18 critic reviews

7.5+ Exceptional · 6.5 Recommended · 5.0 Mixed

7.01 ratings
Users

User Score · avg of 1 ratings

8.0+ Exceptional · 7.0 Recommended · 5.5 Mixed

What The Fish is a 2013 Hindi Film about a 67 years old divorced and grumpy woman with enormous energy and the ability to live in the present has just come back to her home New Delhi.

Critic Consensus

Critical reception for What The Fish was largely negative, with most reviewers finding the film unable to deliver on its promising concept. Dimple Kapadia's performance was the most consistently highlighted positive, with several critics noting she alone kept the film watchable. The direction by Gurmmeet Singh drew widespread criticism, with reviewers citing a weak script, underdeveloped characters, and a failure to sustain comedic momentum as the film's central failings.

18 reviews · 1 positive · 5 mixed · 7 negative

Praised: Dimple Kapadia's screen presenceCriticised: Weak direction and script

AI-generated summary of 18 critic reviews · may contain errors

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Critic Reviews (18)

Shubhra GuptaTop Critic· Indian Express
3.0
"This is yet another in the line of the Quirky Delhi Film, a genre that has long run out of steam. The novelty lasts for a few minutes. After which it's all downhill. Dimple Kapadia is completely capable of carrying a film on her own. Here, she's a sad caricature of a loud Dilli aunty, and she's all wrongly played for the part."
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Raja SenTop Critic· Rediff
2.0
"There could have been some truly vicious invective here, instead of which we're merely given many an accent, all in the name of quirk. It's one thing for moronic characters to take a fish for granted, but entirely -- and unforgivably -- another for a director to do the same with this audience."
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Anupama ChopraTop Critic· TheFrontRow
1.0
"This could have been a fun romp but in the hands of director Gurmmeet Singh, it's an excruciating exercise with vapid characters, bewildering plot twists and dismal acting - even Dimple Kapadia has only one note - she cribs, screeches and hams. What the Fish is basically cinema as root canal. I suffered it so that you don't have to."
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Rajeev MasandTop Critic· IBNLive
0.0
"The big question you're left pondering as you race for the exit in the end, is how exactly did this movie get made? Did nobody read the script? Was there one to begin with? My rating, you ask? You've got to be kidding...WTF???"
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Martin D'Souza· Glamsham
6.0
"You will love Dimple's energetic annoyance, the boyfriend's 'easy going attitude', Anand Tiwari's (who plays the unfortunate boyfriend on a work trip) frustration, as well as Deepti's delivery of her 'off-center' role."
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Faheem Ruhani· India Today
5.0
"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..."
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Karan Anshuman· Mumbai Mirror
5.0
"What the Fish's wacky brand of humor works half the time but confounds in equal measure. It touches no chords and remains consciously superficial but it does have an ensemble that has clicked in a story oddly fresh in these times."
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Renuka Vyavahare· Times Of India
4.0
"The 'idea' behind the movie can be appreciated for its novelty but it fails to develop into a full-fledged comedy of errors, which was the intention. If you like funny movies, there are plenty more fish in the sea."
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Bollywood Hungama News Network· Bollywood Hungama
4.0
"WHAT THE FISH is just another one of the mass-produced comedy dramas that work with the audience when they are in a group. Unfortunately, when watching the film, one can't help but wonder what the title, WHAT THE FISH, really means and how does the film derive such a title for a seemingly comic storyline."
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4.0
"It is to Kapadia's credit that the film is watchable, even if intermittently. How you wish this super-talented actress could find a film that exploits her comic timing. The rest of the cast does well, but is let down by the film. Sigh, yes. This is one of those films you reckon the title and concept is far more absorbing than the film itself. What's the point then?"
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Mohar Basu· KoiMoi
3.0
"An absolutely lame and ridiculous film barring Dimple Kapadia's scorching screen presence, it makes no pretense about being utterly stupid. It is an empty film with no thrill, no excitement and mostly no fun."
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Mansha Rastogi· NowRunning
3.0
"...s a disappointing case of a lost opportunity. The film is replete with chaos and unfunny squirmy sequences so it's best you stay away from it."
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Suhani Singh· India Today
3.0
"If there is one thing that director Gurmmeet Singh gets right about his film, it's the title. What the Fish is filled with absurd situations and an array of supposedly quirky, certainly irresponsible characters whose job is to annoy you. Do they succeed! Their accomplice in this crime is a script which prides itself in being inane but fails terribly in being even remotely funny."
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3.0
"Even though the actors Manu Rishi, Manjot Singh and Anand Tiwari were pretty decent, their efforts seemed to make no difference to this half-hearted attempt of a movie. The director doesn't explore any of the stories within the story in depth and just smugly skims on the surface, leaving the viewer absolutely uninvolved. Wish the unique concept was better utilised. A shoddy, lazy film."
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"... a film that must have been funny when it was conceived, but for a plot that hinges on a goldfish and a plant, it needed some skilled direction and writing to make it work. This film has neither."
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Siddhi Palande· BookMyShow
"Dimple Kapadia gets it right as a grouchy old woman. Watch it for her performance and a crisp story."
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Komal Nahta· KomalsReview
"Gurmmeet Singh's direction is ordinary. His narrative style does not succeed in keeping the audience's interest alive for too long. Of course, the weak script is also to be blamed. It will meet with a disastrous fate at the ticket windows."
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"Given the wishy-washy story and the inept direction by Gurmeet Singh, the usually dependable actors, Kapadia and Manu Rishi, are unable to make anything out of it."
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Cast & Crew

Details

Release Date
13 December 2013
Runtime
108 min
Language
Hindi
Genre
Drama

User Ratings & Reviews

Users7.01 rating

1 rating from the community

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