delhi 6 review

Movie Review: Delhi 6; Star Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri and Waheeda Rehman; Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Delhi 6 is a delightful musical run through the Hindu and Muslim cultures of Old Delhi as seen through the eyes of protagonist Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) who comes to India to fulfill the desire of his terminally ill Daadi (Waheeda Rehman) to spend the last days of her life in her hometown. As Roshan after a brief culture shock, tries to understand the complexities of relations that kept his people apart from each other as well as close to each other, he slowly gets attached to Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) and the chemistry grows, which is very convincingly directed using rich background music and believable day-to-day situations.

The first half, though appearing a little lengthy focuses on reverse-culture-shock jokes, lavishly reproduced Ram Leela, a visit to the Taj Mahal, and a cow giving birth in the street. It is in the second half that things take a more serious turn. Unwelcome traditions and smoldering religious hatred comes bubbling to the surface and erupt into a Do the Right Thing climax that takes everyone by surprise. Several characters and subplots weaved together to relate to the central plot of analyzing beliefs against rational thinking, with a touch of humor is quite entertaining but one has to endure the laborious and forced accent of Abhishek Bachchan throughout the movie. Although at several places, the movie seems predictable, Mehra succeeds in putting surprises well in time and balance. The climax gets dragged due to cameos and voiceovers. Although Roshan’s attempts to put belief and trust in people ahead of belief in customs and religion deserve a pat, what disappoints is Mehra getting preachy at many places. Rahman’s soulful music takes the film to a completely different level altogether.

Mehra and his cameraman Binod Pradhan have succeeded in capturing the buzz of Delhi city very well in every frame. Those living outside of India will find that connect with that feeling of wanting to be in both places. The song in the second half which juxtaposes Abhishek’s life in the US with the people and life in India is beautifully done as well. Hat’s off to the director and technical team there.

Abhishek has delivered one of his better performances but his American accent doesn’t really work. Sonam Kapoor doesn’t have much to do but except for the climax but she carries herself immensely well. Waheeda Rehman, Om Puri and Rishi Kapoor are simply outstanding. The huge ensemble cast comprising of acclaimed actors such as Raghubir Yadav, Pavan Malhotra, Supriya Pathak Shah, Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Tanvi Azmi and Atul Kulkarni do a wonderful job.

Just look at the diversity of topics addressed convincingly through brilliant performances and slick editing, you will realize why I say it’s worth a watch!
After 2006's Rang de Basanti, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was feted as the chronicler of Indian dreams and disappointments. A title like that is a big cross to bear, especially when it's time to make your next film. With Delhi-6, Mehra tries to make another what's-wrong/right-with-India movie and--god I feel so bad saying this--completely loses the plot.

This time too, like in RDB, he attempts to weave together multiple narratives that you hope will meet in that Crash Bang Climax. Instead, he leaves us wondering What Just Happened.

Mehra sets his new film in the choked gullies of Old Delhi (recreated mostly in Sambhar, Rajasthan) where Hindus and Muslims live in apparent harmony. Simultaneously, he introduces the breaking news story of an infamous/mysterious Monkey Man (surely you remember him from Delhi circa 2001?). If you read the creature's Wikipedia entry before you see the film, you'll be familiar with a sizeable chunk of this part of the plot including the illustration and the theory about the motherboard concealed under its fur.

Mehra bombards us with a dizzying array of characters in the first half of a film that's as crowded as the lanes it's shot it. But now I'm confusing you; let me start at the beginning.

Abhishek Bachchan is Roshan, a grandson who brings his ailing Dadi (Waheeda Rahman, beautiful as ever) back from the US to her home in Delhi-6.

When Bachchan first hears the story of the Monkey Man on the television channel above the conveyer belt at the airport, you think the NRI is experiencing just another we-are-like-this-only moment. But when the Kala Bandar begins to pop in and out of the plot with more frequency than many of the other characters; and when the Delhi-6 Ram Lila Committee and a strident sadhavi make their appearance, you get an inkling this is all going to end messily.

Dadi is welcomed back home by family friend Ali Baig (Rishi Kapoor) who was once madly in love with Roshan's mother. She accepts his paan at the airport and declares: "Now I can die in peace".

For the next hour, Abhishek meets the neighbourhood. Let's see, there are two warring brothers and their families; Bittu, lead actor Sonam Kapoor, is the daughter of the grouchier brother played by Om Puri. Then there's their unmarried sister, the low-caste garbage collector called Jalebi, the useless policeman Choudhary, the jalebi seller; the local idiot, the Muslim elder, the moneylender with his young wife who's having an affair with the neighbourhood photographer who's helping Kapoor fulfil her dream of becoming an Indian Idol (because "wohi to ek cheez hai jo ordinary middle class ladki ko nobody se somebody bana sakti hai"), the Kala Bandar of course and half a dozen other characters I've probably forgotten.

Waheeda Rahman looks like she's having fun in the first half (before disappearing in the second half) as she does her own "maut ke liye shopping". In another sequence, she collapses while she's talking to her daughter-in-law on the laptop and is rushed to the hospital on a cycle rickshaw which is forced to stop because the road is blocked by a cow in labour.

There are funny dialogues, and nice insights about how backward (caste, arranged marriages, superstitions, religion) and forward (Chandrayaan) we are (and Bachchan records them all on his Motorola cell phone). If you thought Slumdog had Indian detail, wait till you see the kaleidoscope that is Delhi-6. But sometimes, when you're so focused on getting all the little things right, the big picture can slip out of your hand.

After the Interval, the Kala Bandar momentum picks up; they've already merchandised the creature. Then, as if there aren't enough characters floating around, Baba Bajrangi shows up to exorcise the creature--and floats the idea that it might belong to a specific community. Now everybody wants to know if the KB is a Hindu or a Muslim.

"Bandar ek musalmaan atankwadi hai," someone announces. Things implode and explode even as Ravan's Lanka is set ablaze by Hanuman in the other parallel Ram Lila track. By now poor Dadi is saying, "Ab to yahan marne ka bhi dil nahi karta."

It all comes to a head in a climax that I'm not going to reveal here (except to say that it almost seemed to me that co-producers UTV Motion Pictures suggested to Mehra that he change the dramatic ending to make it not so dramatic).

If one could judge a movie just by its soundtrack, this one would be brilliant. But even the songs leave you bemused in the film. At one point, three songs play almost back-to-back; Arziyan is shot to Rishi Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan playing pool. Bachchan and Kapoor have only one song together--he walks through a door to emerge at Times Square along with the cycle rickshaws and jalebiwalas in dream sequence Dil Gira. Don't miss the Godzilla-inspired shot in this song.