Movie Review: Delhi 6 – A Wonderful Experience!
posted in Movie Reviews |
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rahman, Om Puri, and others
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Delhi 6 is a story of Roshan who travels to Delhi for the first time with his ailing grandmother who wants to spend the remaining few months of her life in her hometown – amidst the hustle bustle of bylanes of the rustic Chandni Chowk area of Old Delhi. Roshan soon gets sucked into the colors and chaos of Delhi and has an experience of his lifetime!
Review:
If you were to paint the spirit of Delhi on celluloid, how would you do it? There are so many things that contribute to the charm of Delhi. Delhi 6 is all about that charm – those little things – the people, their attitudes, their feelings – that make Delhi what it is. In the first half of the film Rakeysh Mehra chose to establish his characters, the common men of Delhi in the vibrant, chaotic yet harmonious setting of the Chowk area of Old Delhi in all its charm, with all its flaws, innocence and stupidity. The first half of the film is rather abstract and tries to involve you into the hustle bustle of the city, film and the lives of the characters.
They second half gets deeper into their lives, their problems and their stubbornness. There is an interesting critique of Delhi’s obsession with the mysterious Kala Bandar (Monkey Man) and how it gets them into political, social and communal problems. The accomplished story-teller that he is, Mehra weaves the metaphor of Kala Bandar into everybody’s life, symbolizing the beast within themselves and how they are affected by it. How the innocence and ignorance of the beast within them makes them stand up for each other in times of distress and how it sometimes makes them fight with each other over their religious differences. Note the scene when the Sadhu Baba triggers off a religious debate between the two communities and how the fickle-minded people fall in that trap.
The weakest of all the stories of the film is Roshan and Bittu’s love story. Despite a pleasant screen presence Sonam Kapoor is limited to a very short role. Their attraction towards each other and their love is too underplayed a detail in the vibrancy of the other relationships in the film. It is only towards the end that one realizes that they are very much in love. Also a speed bump in the story is Roshan’s sudden love for the Delhi, it sounds very silly to see Roshan loving Delhi for all its flaws – so much that he wishes to stay back even after they have brutally kicked him off their lives.
The story, I felt ended abruptly with a rather unnecessary and ridiculous scene of Roshan with his swargiya grand father (Amitabh Bachchan, in a guest role). For an ordinary person, it may seem too abstract a climax.
Performance of the supporting cast was outstanding. Veterans like Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra, Vijay Raaz Deepak Dobriyal, Atul Kulkarni and Divya Dutta have put up admirable performances. Waheeda Rahman pulls off her role with charisma. Rishi Kapoor’s potential was not tapped. Rishi and Sonam Kapoor’s roles seemed too underdeveloped for their importance in the story. Abhishek Bachchan does justice to his role (although sometimes his accent seems a little fake) but good show on the whole. Sonam Kapoor is pleasant and fits in her role very well (quite impressive for a second film).
Hats off to Mehra (and his scriptwriters) for developing such an abstract idea into a full-fledged film. It’s a film that will click only with a select group of people. It is unlikely that everyone would understand it. Those who will understand it will love it absolutely.
Verdict
It’s a very well made film, a well thought-out concept, and a beautiful experience. Go watch the film for the wonderful experience it offers and the lovely performances of the supporting cast. A must watch!
