Delhi 6: The right flavour of Dilli

AFTER THE astounding success of 'Rang De Basanti', which spawned a pseudo-national movement among the youth of India, there were gigantic expectations from Rakeysh Mehra's much ambitious project "Delhi-6". Hyped to be inspired from Mehra's own growing-up years in the streets of Chandni Chowk, 'Delhi 6' examined the nation's soul in an introspective mode and explored the socio-cultural fabric and its prejudices.

A young NRI, Roshan (Abhisek Bachchan) based out of New York escorts his granny (Waheeda Rahman) to Delhi, Chandni Chowk, where she wishes to spend her remaining days. Little does he realise that his 'short trip' would turn out be the biggest journey of his life. Initially, he is thrilled while getting exposed to a new environment and captures everything on his cellphone – the narrow galis, the kids playing cricket, the monuments, the kites and kabootars (pigeon). He enjoys the cheesy Ramleela shows and also the brouhaha surrounding the monkey menace (Kaala Bandar).

Mehra, meanwhile introduces the motley of characters who add new dimensions to Roshan's thought process. There is Mamdu Halwai (Deepak Dobriyal) who believes Hanuman as much as Allah, the buffoon Gobar (Atul Kulkarni), the two brothers at loggerheads (Om Puri and Pavan Malhotra) but their wives sharing a warm camaraderie, the untouchable sweeper (Divya Dutta), the irreverent local cop (Vijay Raaz)and the girl-next-door, Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) who aspires to be the Indian-Idol. Much affection and care is showered from Ali Beg Uncle (Rishi Kapoor) who once used to be his mom's aashique (lover).

But life is not all hunky dory for him. Roshan's psyche is constantly stricken by several intriguing circumstances – the freedom of Bittu being curbed just like that of the wings of the pigeon, Masakalli, the religious bigotry that slashes the human peace and the monkey menace that ramifies into such proportions that Roshan himself becomes a victim of it.

With Delhi-6, Mehra heralds a neo-mechanism of stimulating our conscience. The mad faqir who annoyingly obstructs every pedestrian with his mirror intrinsically delivers the message to delve deep into ourselves, uproot the evil within us and discover our true self. The Protagonist also reiterates , "Yahan ke log acche hain" (people here are good)…even though he is meted out inhumanly treatment at every juncture, he still feels the strong undercurrent of love, unity and warmth. The visual juxtaposition of New York with Chandni Chowk in the creatively shot Dafaton song, which lucidly reflects Roshan's mental state of affairs, is a treat. AR Rehman's master strokes come alive with Masakalli and Gaenda Fool.

The director deserves strong credits for capturing the flavour of Delhi with the intricate camera work and arduous screenplay. The film's greatest hallmark is that it attempts to connect with every strata of our society with the portrayal of the human bonding, the vibes shared in the neighborhood and the myriad nuances that we have witnessed ourselves while growing up.Nevertheless, Mehra's self-indulgence with the plot becomes strikingly evident with an over-stretched narrative .There are too many sub-plots, which in a way showcase his compassion for Delhi but fail to integrate seamlessly to form a well-knit product. The climax is reminiscent of that of RDB and so could not invite unanimous ovation.

On the performance front, Abhishek Bachchan carries off his part effortlessly, with an anglicised accent and he is in great form this time. This will add another feather on his dazzling repertoire. Sonam Kapoor is simply brilliant and her histrionics are on a meteoric rise post Saawariya. Rishi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Om Puri and Paval Malhotra's performances resonate with the fact that vintage never loses its charm. Deepak Dobriyal is a revelation. Vijay Raaz is in crackling form and Divya Dutta's portrayal is numero-uno. Supriya Pathak and KK Raina were also impressive. Infact, the ensemble cast is flawless as far as the delivery is concerned.
Delhi 6 is a movie that will stay in our minds for long, it had something that got down into our spines and fuelled the social awakening among the masses.