"Hope it’s more of Rang De Basanti (entertaining and loaded with a novel idea) and less of Aks (too intangible and boring)," I had mentioned to a friend before the release. Worst fears came true for Rakeysh Mehra’s latest offering Delhi 6 goes the bizarre abstract lanes of Rajasthan rather than bringing the masti of Dilli’s galiyan. Also, the notion that Aamir Khan ghost directs his films seems to be true. For he must have brought a semblance of balance to the total essence of RDB (the right blend of entertainment with revolutionary concept). Alas, Mehra doesn’t seem to have consulted his good friend Khan at all in his latest offering for it disappoints big time.
Firstly, if you’re giving an ode to Chandni Chowk and the nearby area in old Delhi, then how can you goof up by not giving an authentic feel of the buzzing-with-life in closed-confinements so symptomatic of that ghetto. Where’s the parathe wali gali, the dhahi bhalla stalls and the roadside Muslim restaurants world famous for their delicacies. Giving a post-card-like feel of Jama Masjid, Red Fort and rickshaw rides isn’t enough. There’s much more to the area than an overdose of jalebis. Almost eighty percent of the film was shot in Sambhar in Rajasthan since it wasn’t easy to shoot in the conjusted lanes of Delhi 6 but then the Art Director failed to recreate the actual flavour. And that’s a big letdown!
On the positive side, most of the starcast manages to look-n-speak excatly the way one associates with the Dilli 6 janta. Jai Gopal (Pawan Malhotra, fantastic), Madan Gopal (Om Puri, good), Sheeba Chaddha (Rajjo, outstanding), Ali Beg (Rishi Kapoor, charming), Mamdu (Deepak Dobriyal, excellent), Inspector Ranvijay (Vijay Raaz, brilliant) and Jalebi (Divya Dutta, delightful) fill life-like-blood into the language, mannerism and body language. A bit of loud ’chichorapan’, warmth and squabbles on little issues makes you feel, hey, I know where it’s coming from.
There’s not much novelty in the basic story idea of Delhi 6. Roshan Mehra (Abhishek Bachchan) accompanies his Daadi (Waheeda Rahman, sweet and powerful) from USA to their ancestral house in Delhi as she’s down with Cancer and would like to breathe her last in surroundings she’s best adept with. He’s surprised by the love-n-candour of people. He’s equally surprised when they become sworn enemies on religious grounds owing to the scourge of Monkey Man (Kaala Bandar) who had been mysteriously killing people. In between, he discovers love for chirpy Bittu (Sonam Kapoor, pretty and natural) who’s aspiring to be an Indian Idol contestant rather than walking-the-drawing-room of prospective grooms. Their love story lacks the sparks except for some beautiful A R Rahman numbers.
Music is the high point of Delhi 6. Each and every number is a gem. Be it the racy title track, sprightly Masakali, heart-tugging Rehna Tu, energising Dafatan, delightfully laidback Genda Phool (Abhishek’s dancing in this track is a riot) and the spiritual Arziyan...I’d say this is Rahman’s best work as a complete album in a long time (even better than Slumdog Millionaire). Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics are fantastic. But you can’t say the same about the screenplay that Prasoon has written along with Rakeysh Mehra and Kamlesh Pandey. It tries too hard to make a point. Roshan’s dad is a Hindu while mom is a Muslim. He is presented as a symbol of an India that’s above communalism. Good thought but the animosity between the two religions has been showcased in a caricaturish manner and something that has been seen to death in Hindi films before.
Also, the symbolic reference to ’Kaala Bandar’ isn’t anything new. Moreover what happened to the menace going by the same name? Also it’s unclear why Abhishek had to disguise in the end (it does have a few engrossing heart-stopping moments). Although dialogues like ’Koi country perfect nahin hota, use perfect banana padta hai’ in Rang De Basanti hit you hard. But when one hears deliberate coinage of terms like ’Burger Chaap’ and ’India works...the people make it work’ it falls flat and fails to leave an impact. And the constant references to Ram Leela in the film gave a didactic feel. Hammering of preaching is an anti-thesis of movie-watching-experience.
Even technically, Delhi 6 is far inferior when compared with Mehra’s earlier works. P S Bharathi’s editing is average. Binod Pradhan’s camerawork as compared with RDB is just about ok, nothing spectacular. The merging of Dilli 6 with New York in Dafatan song through visual effects doesn’t have the desired effect. Too much of an obvious metaphor. Abhishek Bachchan delivers an earnest performance. But his look was weighed down by ’weighty’ issues which should have been dealt with. Somehow, too much of flab on the face-n-stomach is just isn’t cool.
Rakeysh Mehra is a sincere man who wants to make sensible, meaningful cinema. His intentions in making Delhi 6 are noble and praiseworthy. He wants to think out of the box and refrains from playing to the gallery. Yet, even if you’re having abstract notions in your film they have to be cohesive. Being intellectual just to prove a point is Not done. Also the pace of Delhi 6 is so scorchingly slow that one feels as if you’re sitting in an overcrowded bus that’s been caught up in a traffic jam near Dariya Ganj in June heat.
Delhi 6 isn’t happening as much as one hoped for. Watch it for the songs and a few stray moments of delightful humour-n-poignance.