Delhi-6: Two Reviews

on March 6, 2009

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Nimesh Advani and
Ipsita Bandyopadhyay

“Snapshot of memories” or simply an awry screenplay? Nimesh Advani and Ipsita Bandyopadhyay think differently about the movie ‘Delhi-6‘.

 

“…there are so many characters and so many sub plots that I was confused where to look next…”

Nimesh Advani

Rating: ★☆☆☆ 

It’s very irritating when during a movie there is constant chattering from horny middle aged couples but its effect is reduced when the movie is Delhi-6. With an impressive and promising cast and direction by the popular Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra, expectations are bound to be high. But after barely 20 minutes your desire to see some meaningful cinema starts fading away.

Abhishek Bacchan’s ‘Roshan’ comes to India with Daadi (grandmother) because she wants to die in her Mitti…sob sob. But Roshan gets extra baggage along with him in his fake American accent that should have been left behind (Watch out for him saying “Look Golden Deeerrrrr”). In Delhi he meets his typical family full of bhabhis, buas, and bachha party and two warring brothers (the reason for their quarrel is yet unknown…Still Researching). This movie is a journey of how Roshan finds his roots in Delhi and decides to settle here with the various caste issues and religious problems over a lot of snooker games with Rishi Kapoor. During his stay he meets Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) who is the female lead of the film but is hardly seen and, by the way, she also wants to become the next Indian Idol.

delhi-6

A lot of people want to do a lot of things in the movie; there are so many characters and so many sub plots that I was confused where to look next and in this Bhel-puri, as we may call it, the main issue of the KAALA BANDAR (Black monkey) is lost. There are many characters like the horny photographer, the roadside mithaiwala and the garbage woman but the director does not do justice to any of them. 

Not many people would be able to connect the ‘Ram Leela’ to the story of the film (whatever little there is). The screenplay of this film is disappointing and the sloppy editing does not help the cause either. For instance, Abhishek is seen spending more time with Rishi Kapoor than with his love Sonam  Kapoor and the whole romantic song ‘Rehna Tu’ is picturised on Abhishek and Rishi Kapoor during one of their snooker sessions. Amitabh Bacchan’s cameo in the end could have been avoided as it added little to the proceedings.

The only saving grace of the movie is the music by Oscar winner AR Rehman that is wasted on the film. The song ‘Masakali’ has become a chartbuster, not to forget ‘Genda Phool’ and many others but there are too many songs in the pre-interval period.

There are a few moments in the first half of the film that will keep the audience awake like the rumour regarding Kaala Bandar and people’s reaction on TV and the scene where the cow is giving birth in the middle of the road. Binod Pradhan’s cinematography is pleasant in the first half while we are discovering Delhi but soon the lack of a proper screenplay takes over the few positives.

All in all one starts finding the conversations of the horny middle aged couples more interesting than the movie!

 

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 ”Do we remember dreams/childhood memories clearly? But some events, images, sights, sounds, smells stand out.”

Ipsita Bandyopadhyay

Rating: ★★★☆ 

As in all forms of art, I repeat an oft-repeated argument: that there has to be freedom of form. I feel the audiences and the media in this country like only plot-based films and not thought based films. A repeated grouse against Delhi-6 (D6) is that it has no cohesive plot.

Is that even required? It’s a cliché perhaps derived from the fact that we love stories…and we are used to a clear message being derived out of a story. Just like my Math teacher in Class II, instead of clarifying the concept of addition taught me to recognize an addition problem in the exam by the presence of the word ‘altogether’. The result: a few years later, I actually forgot the difference between addition and subtraction till I was re-taught some basics.

delhi-6-two

The film is clearly in the form of vignettes- somewhat like a snapshot of memories from the writer’s past/ his experiences. Do we remember dreams/childhood memories clearly? But some events, images, sights, sounds, smells stand out. In this respect, providing context does nothing to add to the case of the film. D6 is a chapter in the life of Roshan Mehra. To my mind it didn’t matter whether he was a computer engineer or a college student before he came to India. He carried with him a sense of calm, composure and an unhurried manner. So why can’t we just assume that he was on a vacation? The soul of the film is something different- its message lies elsewhere.

I admire the director Raykesh OmPrakash Mehra’s (ROM) ability to translate feelings to visuals. If you watch his films carefully, you’ll feel connected to what he’s trying to depict. As though his thoughts have been translated by a secret code onto the screen and at that point, there’s a strong connect between the viewer and the writer. Pardon me a poor metaphor but somewhat like tuning fork and vibrating string in resonance during Henle’s experiment. I wish I had an example I could quote from the film to demonstrate this point. But I am sorry, it’s a feeling, very strong and resonating at the moment it hits you, but vanishes soon. This adds texture to a film, a certain je ne sais quoi (I know not what) very few works of art achieve- something you can read between the lines.

Many people I spoke to including the film reviewer of India’s leading news channel felt the Hindu-Muslim jhagda in the film was too ‘over-the-top’. This puts me off. Here’s a guy who’s trying to show us a complex problem in its infancy, where it begins, in a simple manner that one should understand. But the audience seems to demand complexity. Throughout the communal tension, the audience is prompted to smile at the absurdity of it all. That’s precisely the point Mehra tries to make. How politics can drive neighbours to madness within a community where religious syncretism actually is such a integral part of life that intolerance seems forced; it obviously is by the media, politicians etc.

In any case, if the film tried to show this in any more serious a manner it would have been banned/ embroiled in controversy.

I must submit that the expectations from ROM post the director’s Rang De Basanti (RDB) are more than sky-high. D6 is nowhere close. The music is brilliant but terribly placed. Very valid points. You came out of RDB feeling something very deep within. In my opinion, a large portion of that credit went to the superb acting by the cast and strong characterization which is lacked sorely here. Abhishek and lead actress Sonam hugely disappoint in D6. That does take away from the soul of the film. But not from the thought Rakeysh has presented. 

Also much criticized is the ‘filmy’ ending. There is a strong argument for showing reality in cinema. Which is that, in real life, Abhishek would have died perhaps. But is there any argument for not showing hope? That violence between communities living together may end when neighbours realize their follies and look into the mirror so to speak. It’s a simplistic but valid solution to show.

An interview somewhere said that the director would have like another month to complete the film. He should have been given that.

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