Delhi-6 is not a film, it is a novel. The way it starts with Amitabh Bachchan reciting a poem, like an epigraph in a novel the opening dialogue something in the first person, like a debut novel written in the first person the number of characters, the (often looney) events, the setting a right ingredient for a novel to be chosen for those hot-shot literary prizes and Abhishek Bachchan's character jumping over rooftops and demons and vaanars of the Ramleela flying in the air and the Statue of Liberty growing right there in the middle of Chandni Chowk (Gali Paswan in the film) are what a litterateur would call elements of magic realism that Marquez and other authors of Latin America, Rushdie and Yann Martel have popularized. So, Delhi-6 has everything that a budding writer could dream about. Rakeysh Mehra should have written a novel called Delhi-6, got an agent, and had it published, and seen it climb the bestsellers list. He could have, perhaps, won a prize or two. Because Delhi-6 the movie is just two-hours-and-a-half of gibberish.
First, it takes quite some time for the viewer to figure out what is happening, because what is happening starts happening only after all the characters have been assembled. An ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) who wishes to return to India to die in the city she was born in; her NRI grandson (Abhishek Bachchan) who brings her to India but has no intentions of staying; the friendly Muslim gentleman (Rishi Kapoor) who receives them and who was once in live with the NRI dude's mother (Tanvi Azmi); two warring brothers (Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra); their friendly wives (Supriya Pathak and Sheena Chadha); the unmarried sister (Aditi Rao Hydari); the girl who wishes to break free (Sonam Kapoor); the fraud neighbourhood photographer (Cyrus Sahukar) who, she thinks, would help her break free; the greedy lala (Prem Chopra); the Muslim halwai (Deepak Dobriyal); the elderly Muslim gentleman (K. K. Raina); the saffron-clad monsterly baba (Akhilendra Mishra); the corrupt Haryanvi cop (Vijay Raaz); the alley fool (Atul Kulkarni); and the low-caste sweeper (Divya Dutta) who has a crush on the alley fool. To add to the mayhem there is the Monkey Man (yes, you're reading right) who has tormented the entire city.
It would have taken a little above 300-pages in a standard paperback to bring all these characters to life. In a 2-hour-30-minute movie it was a bit difficult, but thanks to these wonderful actors each one of them is a gem, Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta and Atul Kulkarni, especially Mehra's work was rendered too easy. It is difficult to catch either the head or the tail of the plot in the first one hour, but the characters are so endearing and the songs by Prasoon Joshi and A. R. Rahman (especially the 'Genda Phool' number) are so catchy, the viewer is lost in the film.
Post-intermission, there is this Abhishek-Sonam love angle, and it would have been better had Mehra put in a little more of their sweet-nothings (for Sonam fresh and willowy looks heavenly, while Abhishek in his beard and fake accent is just cute). But hey! As I've already written, the film is gibberish, and the gibberish begins here. A communal tension angle spoils the entire thing. The film has a very tacky climax, a very tacky climax. One of the tackiest in Bollywood. And I'm so particular about this climax because Delhi-6 is not your usual Bollywood fare. It is, to use the cliché, different. And I mean it. And I wish Mehra had retained its differentness. He tries to put in some social message stuff like 'Rang De Basanti' and it spoils everything.
However, it is not to late. Mehra could still turn Delhi-6 into a novel. And I'm sure it would be enjoyed more as a novel. Perhaps, he would put in a few more characters. We'll take them all. But Delhi-6 the film, well, watch it for the Abhishek-Sonam chemistry, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Rishi Kapoor, the comedy by Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra, and the music by A. R. Rahman. Don't ask for anything more and you won't be disappointed.
First, it takes quite some time for the viewer to figure out what is happening, because what is happening starts happening only after all the characters have been assembled. An ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) who wishes to return to India to die in the city she was born in; her NRI grandson (Abhishek Bachchan) who brings her to India but has no intentions of staying; the friendly Muslim gentleman (Rishi Kapoor) who receives them and who was once in live with the NRI dude's mother (Tanvi Azmi); two warring brothers (Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra); their friendly wives (Supriya Pathak and Sheena Chadha); the unmarried sister (Aditi Rao Hydari); the girl who wishes to break free (Sonam Kapoor); the fraud neighbourhood photographer (Cyrus Sahukar) who, she thinks, would help her break free; the greedy lala (Prem Chopra); the Muslim halwai (Deepak Dobriyal); the elderly Muslim gentleman (K. K. Raina); the saffron-clad monsterly baba (Akhilendra Mishra); the corrupt Haryanvi cop (Vijay Raaz); the alley fool (Atul Kulkarni); and the low-caste sweeper (Divya Dutta) who has a crush on the alley fool. To add to the mayhem there is the Monkey Man (yes, you're reading right) who has tormented the entire city.
It would have taken a little above 300-pages in a standard paperback to bring all these characters to life. In a 2-hour-30-minute movie it was a bit difficult, but thanks to these wonderful actors each one of them is a gem, Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta and Atul Kulkarni, especially Mehra's work was rendered too easy. It is difficult to catch either the head or the tail of the plot in the first one hour, but the characters are so endearing and the songs by Prasoon Joshi and A. R. Rahman (especially the 'Genda Phool' number) are so catchy, the viewer is lost in the film.
Post-intermission, there is this Abhishek-Sonam love angle, and it would have been better had Mehra put in a little more of their sweet-nothings (for Sonam fresh and willowy looks heavenly, while Abhishek in his beard and fake accent is just cute). But hey! As I've already written, the film is gibberish, and the gibberish begins here. A communal tension angle spoils the entire thing. The film has a very tacky climax, a very tacky climax. One of the tackiest in Bollywood. And I'm so particular about this climax because Delhi-6 is not your usual Bollywood fare. It is, to use the cliché, different. And I mean it. And I wish Mehra had retained its differentness. He tries to put in some social message stuff like 'Rang De Basanti' and it spoils everything.
However, it is not to late. Mehra could still turn Delhi-6 into a novel. And I'm sure it would be enjoyed more as a novel. Perhaps, he would put in a few more characters. We'll take them all. But Delhi-6 the film, well, watch it for the Abhishek-Sonam chemistry, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Rishi Kapoor, the comedy by Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra, and the music by A. R. Rahman. Don't ask for anything more and you won't be disappointed.