Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6
Posted on 20 February 2009 by Amrita Tanna
Still reeling from the musical and cinematic success of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, the sensational A R Rahman is said to have outdone himself with the music of the today released Delhi-6. Directed by hugely-talented Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (recognised primarily for his cult film Rang De Basanti), the film is easily one of the most anticipated of 2009. Whilst Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor play the first leads in the film, the movie also boasts a diverse line-up of actors ranging from Om Puri to Divya Dutta. The setting of the film is the ancient walled city of Delhi, with the plot centred on the childhood memories of the director.
The story follows the journey of an American-born Indian, Roshan (played by Abhishek), who goes to India with his poorly grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) who wishes to live the remainder of her life in her homeland. Unfamiliar to the Eastern lifestyle and culture, for Roshan the voyage transforms into a journey within where his destiny also presents him with the carefree and gorgeous Bittu (played by Sonam).
After the failure of her mega hyped debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya, the audiences are taking to Sonam Kapoor in her new avatar in Delhi 6. The trailers of the film suggest her character is of a traditional village girl who wants to break away from her roots. Her dancing sequence in the song “Masakalli” has got the audiences raving and the title has become Sonam’s new nickname, much to her displeasure.
Papa Anil Kapoor is celebrating his acclaimed performance in Slumdog Millionaire, whilst his daughter is eagerly awaiting the audience’s reaction to Delhi 6. It would be right to assume both movies show a somewhat opposing portrayal of modern India. Amitabh Bachchan described Slumdog Millionaire as underpinning the “dirty underbelly” of Mumbai. In stark contrast, Abhishek (in a recent television interview) illustrated the backdrop and storyline of Delhi 6 as being “an ode to Delhi, and an ode to India”.
So what does Delhi 6 offer which hasn’t been seen before in films like Swades and Hyderabad Blues? Well, as Abhishek quite rightly explained in the interview, “Bollywood is the only film industry where a film is compared with the director’s previous films or with films of a similar genre. A film should be seen as a stand-alone product which has to make its own identity”. This safely indicates that those going into the cinema halls expecting a replica of any other film should get ready for disappointment. It can’t be ignored that A R Rahman has given music to just two of Abhishek’s films beforehand, Yuva and Guru, and both proved to be turning points in Abhishek’s career.
A R Rahman’s music promises a soft, soulful and fresh soundtrack and this, coupled with the scenery, is sure to captivate audiences worldwide. And if Mehra’s previous films are anything to go by, Delhi 6 guarantees to be a robustly opinionated flick, with a wide array of talented actors. Lets hope Roshan’s “journey within” also carves a journey into the audience’s hearts.
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Tags : a r rahman, abhishek bachchan, sonam kapoor
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March 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
saw a movie today that i loved deeply. it has its heart in the right place, which is delhi -6. why 6? because that is the pincode of old delhi. delhi 6 with its labyrinthine streets and alleys, cycle rikshaws, swirling crowds, parathans and sweets, muhallas and the muhallewalas, the warm people that can make you their own, if you let them. everyone is family until suddenly, chimerically it breaks apart. delhi 6 - the film offers a hard look at these people, at us.
was connected to delhi 6 through my ex-husband, a man who later introduced me as his friend, never as the ex-wife and that too is part and parcel of the ways of delhi -6. no matter, be that as it may, the essence of delhi -6 lingers on in me and this film helps revive it. for that i am grateful to soul-brother rakeysh omprakash mehra. i like this man more and more…
he gave us ‘rang de basanti’ and that was a tough act to follow. but he triumphs with delhi -6. fine tuned performances by the entire ensemble, abhishek too is growing on me, sonam is lovely and pitch-perfect, as are waheeda, om puri, vijay raj, rishi kapoor, supriya pathak, sheeba, atul kulkarni, divya dutta, deepak dobriyal, etc. etc.
the film works on many layers and levels, ram leela is the myth on stage, the kala bunder (black monkey) is the allegory you follow on television through the film you are watching on-screen.
for the plot summary check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_6
the monkey-man is a real phenomenon that occurred 2-3 years ago. the tv footage could just as well have been taken from the coverage of that event. the rumor mongering and the media adding to the frenzy is as rampant as the flourishing of superstition. the mandir-masjid issue that sparked many a riot among the hindus and muslims is, well, dare i say, history? the roof-top romance is fortunately an on-going occurance. the coming home to die in one’s own coutnry is a common enough sentiment, though i do not know of any indian families that speak so openly of death and dying and prepare for it too. perhaps it is rakesh’s homage to an iraniam film ‘mother’ and the man with the mirror to a makhmalbaf film.
now the man with the mirror is the element that raises the film from good to great. i would have prefered the call to recognising oneself as the divine or as the black monkey to have been more subtle, but given that this is a hindi commercial film it is fairly well done. not only is the mirror strategically placed on the wish-fulfilling tree at the end, but the entire film is that mirror. the mirror that invites us to look at how we create factions, riots, walls, as well as connections, relations and love. but like roshan’s sermon in the film or gobar’s; advice is one that the fools do not take …
the flavour of delhi -6 is in the way the people speak -. at the risk of diluting if not losing it in translation- “dogs eat to satiate hunger, humans to create bonds”"you won’t be allowed to get an entry if you don’t have this” “i could go to bombay anytime i am just allowing others to get a chance”it is in the ‘the urdu peotry of Zauk’, the mukesh songs on radio, the rivalry in singing bhajans at the ‘jagran’, the kite-flying, the ram-leela, the pigeon-rearing, but most of all the typical characters that populate the old city.
the bribe-taking, slap-happy cop, the corner shop-keeper-owner , the squabbling brothers, the spinster sister, the rich old lusty man married to a young woman, who cheats on him, the cassanova photographer, the middle-class young woman who escapes her father’s plans of matrimony for her by chasing dreams of making it on a talent hunt tv reality show, the political figure riding on communal tension, the idiot who is smarter than all the rest, the low-caste woman with the sharp tongue…. the only not so believable aspect is how quickly she gets integrated into mainstream society…letting that be
i take my hat off to delhi-6 and its maker even more for the inner conflict that re-iterates in his two films. the belief in surrender and fate and its slide into inaction and apathy vs. belief as faith. this is a spiritual query that confronts every thinking seeker and every feeling intelligent being. this is the central issue at the heart of the film. not so much whether NRIs ought (or ought not) to be returning to india once again. although delhi 6 reverbates with the issues of belonging and feeling disconnected or alienated, the question of faith is at the core regardless of the forms it may take.
the call is to see the divinity in oneself and that cannot come about unless and until we are also willing to recognise the mad monkey that resides within us whenever it springs up and takes control of our re-actions. but i am sermonising again and this message is better delivered through the songs in the film. they not only capture the flavours of old delhi but bring out the essence of faith. a. r. rehman and prasoon joshi (lyrics) make a potent combination indeed. my favuorites are ‘massakali’, ‘delhi-6′, ‘genda phool’, and the classical ‘bhor bhaye’ but most of all ‘arziyan’ or ‘maulah mere maulah’
i urge all and sundry to see the film and listen to its music.