Delhi-6 (2009)

A bit late given the fact that I had been for the film the night it released i.e. the 20th of February. So better late than never I am finally writing a review which I had been thinking of working on since the past one month. But as the saying goes, better late than never so here I am finally giving my review of the film – Delhi 6, a film which has been described by Rajeev Masand as a film with a heart. The film basically deals with Roshan's (Abhishek Bachchan) journey from New York to one of the more chaotic areas of the country – Chandni Chowk whose pin code stands as '6' and it is from here the title of the film comes from.

The film has a beautiful narrative wherein it is the leading protagonist who has a voice-over and tells the story. The story begins wherein Roshan cannot relate Chandni Chowk here is also symbolic of an average Indian residential community which has shades of real life characters – a corrupt policeman, egoist brothers who can't stand each other, the mohalla idiot. Simple scenes like – Hindus and Muslims worshipping not just their own religious Gods but vice versa, the distribution of Prasad from both the mosque and the temple enjoyed by the mohallawalas, Roshan made to talk on the phone even at a time when he is waiting outside the rest room in very urgent state, the Muslims youth having a secret hideout where the practice all the material things like drinking or playing pool which is restricted by their religion, a Muslim tying devi maa ka kapda on the hands of Roshan's grandmother down with a medical emergency, at the same time the scene of a cow giving birth to a calf on the middle of the street which cures the ailing grandmother and also re emphasizes that faith heals but my favourite of them remains the scene showing the image of Hanuman and Haj sharing the same wall in a Muslim shop which reasserts the uniqueness of Indian Muslims in a time when more and more Muslims from India are being influenced by jehadi ideas.

The beauty of the film lies in how artsy cinema has been blended so well with mainstream cinema. As ROM had rightly put it that if RDB was his passing out of school, D6 is his graduation. And is very true in what he means. There is a big stress on symbolisms – Masakali, the dove stands the individual's curtailed right to freedom and being tied down by restrictions, the Ram leela and relevance of its chapters is time and again reflected whether it is the Shabari episode being shown as the same time wherein caste based discrimination exists in the audience or be it the burning o f Ravana symbolizing victory over external evil and last but not least Kaala Bandar which reflects the evil within which we have to see and correct by looking at the mirror.

The actors have perfectly fitted in the shoes of their characters - Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Vijay Raaz, Pawan Malhotra, Om Puri, Divya Dutta and all the other so called supporting actors have come up with some splendid performances of their lifetimes. A R Rehman has done a fabulous job as usual by blending the songs perfectly as per the requirements of the screenplay and by no means do look forcefully pushed into it.

The feel good emotion which the film carries with it is impressive summed in the dialogue "India works. The people make it work". The only disappointment was the final guest entry as it looked very much forced up and really did not fit in the entire screenplay. But the overall goodness of the film overcomes this ignorable aspect. Delhi 6 is ta

Fmovies: What a delight! The streets of Delhi haven't ever looked as affable as through the camera of Binod Pradhan in Delhi-6. To be honest, when I had heard the music release, a few songs seemed out-of-place/non-inspiring, but every note played in the movie seems to blend seamlessly with the plot.

It's not a perfect movie - the plot seems to be unconvincing in the last 20 minutes, but that doesn't even manage to scrape the lingering happy feeling that you're left with from the previous couple of hours of the movie.

I found three remarkable things about the movie. I've already mentioned the cinematography - it makes you wish you were there. Then there is a bunch of the most heartwarming, hilarious scenes written and enacted brilliantly. Yet, the performance by the actors is what remains with you when you step out of the theater. Divya Dutta, Deepak Dobriyal, and Vijay Raaz stand out and have such impact through their few appearances that you end up believing they were on screen for almost the entire movie. Waheeda Rahman and Rishi Kapoor remind us that Old is Gold. In fact, the entire cast is full of life, and has carried the story on its shoulders through every scene. Abhishek Bachhan has done justice to his talent.

If you're a fan of the old run-on-the-mill Indian movie, better stay at home. If you wish to see a delightful approach to cinema, go catch the movie.

I rate it at 7/10.

While modern India races ahead towards its self-designed glory with aspirations and outlook that are based on the premise of something new and different, the majority still lives in stark contrast to these changes. The Indian society in reality is multi-faced with its culture, customs, traditions, orthodox outlook, communal bitterness, corruption and above all, hypocrisy. Delhi 6 is a mirror shown to us that portrays this Indian society in changing times. Now whether one chooses to believe that the image in the mirror is a story-less facade, a mockery or a genuinely vivid portrayal of the Indian kaleidoscope is a matter more of acceptance than of opinion.

Rakesh OmPrakash Mehra's 'Aks' was a bold venture into the indestructible evil but his distinct narrative style was incomprehensible by the majority. His next film claimed an iconic status for him and 'Rang De Basanti' became a cult movie with outstanding music, technical finesse, brilliant story telling and a soul stirring message. With 'Delhi 6', Rakesh Mehra gives us a view of his childhood locality in Delhi through the eyes of an NRI who finds the warmth and diversity appeal to him as he brings his ailing grandmother back home. Soon he discovers the hypocrisy and backwardness that lies underneath the surface of the society that first gave him love but now leaves him in disbelief of the reality around him. There is a subtle meaning behind every dialog, a satirical take on every reality, a brilliant visual for everything beautiful, a metaphorical implication for our inner selves in parallel plots, the meaningful and unique compositions of Prasoon Joshi with AR Rehman's genius and a narrative so powerful yet subtle in context and delivery. Rakesh Mehra proves yet again, that he is a class apart from the rest.

The narrative is like a rich textured, painfully woven cloth made of fine individual threads of varied colors that exemplify the film's diverse characters. We see Delhi through the eyes of Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) who shows maturity and greater understanding of the story than simply that of his character. Bittu (Sonam Kapoor-beautiful!) is the concealed modern face of an Indian Idol aspirant whose dreams are caged by her father's orthodox attitude. Waheeda Rehman plays Roshan's grand mom with her natural ability as a veteran actress while she munches on supari, Pan and dances to Genda Phool. Rishi Kapoor is at his charming best as Ali Baig, Roshan's uncle, a reputable citizen of Delhi 6 whose insight into the ways and customs of the society are both didactic and lasting in their impact. Gobar (Atul Kulkarni – class act!), the simpleton who is always ridiculed by everyone has an impactive part to play towards the end while Pawan Malhotra and Om Puri play the roles of acrimonious brothers in a manner that is consistent with their brilliant acting prowess. The list of towering performances extends with Vijay Raaz as the typical corrupt and conceited policeman, Deepak Dobriyal as the rancorous victim of his society's inanity, Prem Chopra as the flamboyant moneylender and Divya Dutta as the outcast trash picker whose mockery of the hypocritical 'clean communities' pinches at the conscience of many.

Although the ensemble cast may seem like the film's highlight, it actually is Rakesh Mehra and Prasoon Joshi's script and screenplay that result in the entwined narrative leading to an analogous summation of the story. Running parallel to Roshan's discovery of India and its people is th

Delhi-6 fmovies. I think the excellent movie till date from abhishek and great movie with great music ....a "GREAT SCRIPT" nd a great acting from everyone... a very nice movie and ll just say that a must watch movie for all Indians.

NOT just watch the movie but to understand it deepness hidden in it.just wanna say that m not very good in movie criticizing but if i can understand the movie with it deep thought so that every normal human can also understand. I think more of this theme movie also need to make in Bollywood instead of just crap movie with fighting and no story line just with action in them . request to all to like and support this kind of movie and encourage the director for this kind of masterpieces.

Thankfully I wasn't sucked into all the hype of this film and just watched it months after its release, after the dust had settled down with the immense flak it was receiving. But to put it succinctly, the only thing wrong about Delhi 6 is that Rakesh Mehra made it after RDB. Period. Nothing more, nothing less.

Had Rakesh opted to depart from the norm and do a completely different genre of a film- yes, then maybe, he would have pulled it off well, but a film like Delhi 6, which had the shades of RDB in it, certainly is not the wisest of choices for a follow up. Delhi 6 is like a toned-down RDB, less impacting, much more mellow, and just like anything- its expectations that would hinder one from enjoying it. From the way it had been criticized, I was expecting a heavily metaphorical film with abstract narration all over- I wasn't expecting much, and thats exactly why I give it a 9, because it exceeded my low expectations.

I couldn't help but to think that the film is receiving this flak because of the strong anti-Abhishek sentiment, with many feeling that Abhi hadn't been aggressive enough in the film. But, thats the whole point of the film. That precisely is the USP of the film. Roshan is not a participant, the entire film is a journey through Roshan's eyes as to how he transformed from a mere observer of the society and later on became an active participant. He may not be your regular society-changing hero, but that is exactly Rakesh's intentions in this film. To just show to the audiences what he himself had seen through his eyes.

The film's theme is also very self-reflective. The only major metaphor of the film is about self-reflection. It is a direct satire commentary- sending a clear message that we fail to look in the mirrors to see the evil and good inside us, and instead we believe that God will do the good, and that your neighbor or the person across the street is the evil element. It may had made some feel uncomfortable watching this film as well, as it prompts you to take a look in the mirror. One need not take a long, hard look to understand the so-called 'too metaphorical' way in which this film has been done. Yes, there is a metaphor, but its a well done metaphor, not one that is difficult to comprehend or one which is too abstract.

Admittedly, the film does have its flaws, editing could have been slicker to say the least, there are parts which simply drag the length beyond much necessity- but here I have to credit Binod Pradhan for capturing the essence of Delhi. The last time I was transported to a location in which a film is based on was in the 2006 Tamil film Paruthi Veeran, which took me to the dry, dusty, vast open village in Madurai, and Delhi 6 follows suit. I was at Chandi Chowk, or to put it simply, I felt like I was transported to Delhi 6 myself with Binod's camera-work capturing everything about the city.

Music is certainly great as usual by AR Rahman, but again, Delhi 6 required more silence than noise, thus the entire film was made in a similar way, passive characters- passive, slow music, there's something about the city that is always larger than the people, thats what Rakesh had showed in this film. 'Dil Gira Gaaftan' however, came somewhat needlessly, while 'Kaala Bandar' and 'Gehnda Pool' were shot without much fuss and just relied on Abhi's body language to be pictured, which he certainly did well. Being a Hindu, 'Arziyan' was such a serene listening experience that it became on

So this movie has an average rating of 6.2, which is quite disappointing for a film like this. It falls along the lines of Rang De Basanti. It is not a masala flick where you have drama, love, sex, music, thrills, laughs, tragedy, etc. This movie doesn't have much entertainment value, it is more about real life and how people behave (just like Rang De Basanti).

Now about the movie. It is directed well and the story is simple. The pace was slow a couple times but it picked up during the climax. Although Abhishek and Sonam aren't great actors in my view, they have my respect for working in this film. You can read the plot to know about the general story.

I would watch this movie again with friends and family. It is definitely a keeper and it's available on Blu-Ray!