A Collection of Thoughts on Delhi-6
(This post contains spoilers. You’ve been warned. Baaki aap ki marzi :-))
I normally stay far, far away from writing movie reviews. It just isn’t my forte. However, after seeing Delhi-6 on Saturday and then reading most of the reviews of Delhi-6 posted on the Internet, I feel compelled to write this post, since many of the reviews out there ignored a lot of aspects of the film. And, mind you, I used the word “post” not “review” ;-)
Bollywood…churns out so many films and dreams each year…Sadly, most of those films don’t even deserve to classify under the film category. Critics enjoy cribbing about how out of the 100 + plus films the Hindi film industry offers us, only a handful are well-made. Yet, when we finally have a really beautiful and well-made film, most of us relish tearing the film apart. We write mediocre 2-3 paragraph press-release type posts in the name of reviews, pass or dismiss a film within a few sentences, and very rarely offer solid and specific reasons for our negative views on a film. Forget reviews, even in the comments we post and discussions we have aren’t very productive—most of it consists of the “I liked it. How dare you not like the film, ignorant fool?” or the “I thought the film was bakwaas. End of discussion” approach. Nahin, not trying to offer any gyaan…main kaun hoti hoon gyaan dene waali?…just throwing out some observations.
And, speaking of throwing out observations, I’ve got plenty of those for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi-6. Starting off, let me say that I really enjoyed this film very much, each and every moment of it. So, if you’re one of those people who can’t stand any more praise for Delhi-6, please read no further. You’ll save yourself from a lot of unnecessary distress.
So, a lot of people seem to have multiple issues with Delhi-6. Let me also start out with the bad—I felt the voiceovers were a bit over done, the dubbing wasn’t really in sync, Roshan’s (Abhishek Bachchan) parents aren’t really charismatic actors compared to the rest of the cast, parts of the Dil Gira Dafatan song were blurry, and, in reality, Indian Idol was many years after the Kaalaa Bandar incident. (On a side note, I also wish they had chosen someone else for the mirror waalaa fakeer…I don’t know why but I kinda wish Prasoon Joshi was offered that role…) Anyway, these are all minor issues.
The major issues most people seem to have with Delhi-6 include:
a) the film is preachy at the end
b) enough justice hasn’t been done to the characters and actors in the film
c) the kaalaa bandar thing is overdone
d) Big B shouldn’t have been included in the film
e) Why does Abhishek want to stay in India?
a) the film is preachy at the end—I’ve heard and read a lot of people complaining about how they enjoyed the entire journey through the film, but were appalled by the preachy ending. I’m not quite sure I understand this grievance against Delhi-6. There are plenty of films which fall under the “preachy” category, including Mumbai Meri Jaan, Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Heck, we have an entire monologue by Naseeruddin Shah at the end of A Wednesday which delivers a message. Yet, I haven’t come across too many complaints about these films being preachy. So, what is wrong with Delhi-6 being a film which comes with multiple messages?
b) enough justice hasn’t been done to the characters and actors in the film—a lot of people are rather pissed off about actors like Rishi Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Deepak Dobriyal, Om Puri, etc. being “wasted” in the film. Some don’t think justice was done to the “love story” between Roshan and Bittu (Sonam Kapoor). Some think the ending is a rip-off as it leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what happens to the characters—Does Bittu go to Bombay for Indian Idol? What happens to Roshan’s Daadi (Waheeda Rahman)? How does Gobar (Atul Kulkarni) and Jalebi’s (Divya Dutta) relationship shape up? Do Roshan’s parents also move to India? Do the two brothers, Jai Gopal and Madan Gopal patch up? Oh really…how about, Sonam Indian Idol mei jaati hai ki nahin? Ussey har round mei kitne points miltey hai? Mamdu ki jalebi dukaan phir se chaaloo hoti hai ki nahin? Dukaan mei kitne customers aate hai? Uss bache ko exam mei 90% marks miltey hai ki nahin? Oh, come on, yaar. The film isn’t just about Roshan and Bittu’s love story, nor is it entirely about any of these character’s stories…like Rakesh Omprakash Mehra said in interviews, Delhi itself is the protagonist of the film and all these characters and their stories are a part of establishing the character “Delhi.” Each of the characters, Rishi, Pavan, Om, Sonam, Supriya, Suresh, Prem, Deepak…each of these characters and their situations, their dilemmas/predicaments put together helps create the character “Delhi.”
c) the kaalaa bandar thing is overdone—What is wrong with the Kaalaa Bandar symbolism? Can’t a Hindi film heavily use symbolism and have poetic qualities? The Kaalaa Bandar represents the inner demons of all of us, of society…the way characters start using the Kaalaa Bandar to their advantage…Lalaji’s wife saying the Kaalaa Bandar was in her room to help Suresh flee, Om Puri saying they’ll say the Kaalaa Bandar took Sonam…the burning of the Kaalaa Bandar mask with the Ravana effigy at the end…it all has such a poetic quality to it…I mean the film is so rich in its use of symbolism and analogies and metaphors, it’s quite amazing. So much thought must have gone into writing the screenplay…Even the use of the Ramayana offers an interesting contrast to the lives of the Delhites shown in the film…The contrast of the Ram-Lakshman relationship with Madan Gopal and Jai Gopal’s relationship…The contrast of Ram being against bhed-baao and Gobar saying, “woh toh bhagwaan hai, kuch bhi kar saktey hai,” the meshing of politics with religion shown through the speech given by the female netaa…each of these elements conveys so much. There are so many other forms of symbolism in the film, like the bird Masakkali symbolizing Bittu’s state at times. Even the naming of Divya Dutta’s character as Jalebi and Mamdu having a Jalebi dukaan, or the song “Sajan re jhoot mat bolo” playing isn’t a mere coincidence. It’s just amazing how many layers there are to the film…so many details to pay attention to…wow!
d) Big B shouldn’t have been included in the film—Umm, and, why not? Roshan is unconscious and has this vision of being in heaven with his grandfather. What’s wrong with that? It’s a film, not a reality show or documentary. Why can’t the writers and director take this creative liberty?
e) Why does Abhishek want to stay in India?—I think part of the answer lies in the Rehnaa Tu song lyrics. Yes, Delhi hurts him…the people taunt him for being half-Muslim…the people beat him up… “thoda sa dard tu (Delhi), thodda sukoon…” and it is those very people which rush him to the hospital and shed tears for him… “tu zakhm de agar, marham bhi aake tu lagaaye…zakhm pe bhi mujh ko pyaar aaye…”
While most reviews have devoted a lot of time to highlighting the writers’ opinions about the “lows” of Delhi-6, here follows a list (in no particular order or logic) of some aspects of Delhi-6 which haven’t been given much attention…
-Vijay Raaz: By God, kyaa mast acting ki hai! I mean, everything about him, the way he talked, the way he walked, the way says “behen ke tanne,” the way he moves his dandaa, it’s all so funny! He lends humor to even the tense moments in the film. Absolutely loved the following scenes: a) he rounds up the Raam-Leela actors and asks, “abbey kis ke poonch se mobile baj rahaa hai?” b) “tere ko main servant dikh rahaa hoon!” c) he scolds a person for dumping a bucket of water on him instead of the Kaalaa Bandar d) he slaps Mamdu for imitating him and then says, “chaalu rakh” e) He talks to the news reporter seriously and is like, “hum toh apnaa farz nibhaa rahey hai.”
-The scene in which Pavan is explaining to Abhishek that they should throw water on the Kaalaa Bandar to create a short-circuit is funny. And, then we see his wife removing a brick from the wall and telling Om Puri’s family, “Bandar ki koi mother hai, aur usko board ke exam mein baithaa hai. Ussko paani pilaanaa hai” :-D
-The two young boys are also quite naughty. The scene in which one of the boys teases Pavan, “90% kyon? Pure 100% laaoongaa” and Pavan Malhotra says “mera majaak udaa rahey ho?” and he says “shuru kisne kiyaa thaa?” is cute. However, in the subsequent scenes, the two boys “humko mard banna hai” episode offers a serious social commentary.
-The part when Jalebi tells Gobar, “murakho ko bevakoof banaane mei koi harj nahin” was very powerful and touching.
-Gobar binaa haath uthaaye tamaachaa maar detaa hai when he says “Jis din yeh 10 ka note liyaa uss din yeh 2 sikke milne bhi band ho jaayenge.”
-The “Oh my God” saying “Ok Baba” was just too funny. And, he shows how religious tensions can emerge at any moment. The part when Om Puri says “humaare paas proof hai” that the Kaalaa Bandar is Muslim was quite comical, but, on a more serious note, it also shows how easily religious tensions emerge in India.
-Sonam’s calling Abhishek a “burger chhaap” and making faces when Abhishek is loudly expressing his enjoyment of the “golden deer” in the Raam Leela is also funny. However, the moment when Soman sarcastically asks Abhishek if he’s having fun seeing her dilemma and thinking “oh wow, such backward Indians” offers an interesting perspective on what Indians think NRIs think about them
-The way Pavan Malhotra and Om Puri turn the “Tumhre Bhavan Mein” bhajan into a competition is memorable
-The scene in which the little kid says “Didi Rat Poision peene waali thi aur hum sab ke chaai mei daalne waali thi” really made everyone in the theater laugh.
-The picturization of the Genda Phool song was very sweet.
-I was totally taken by a pleasant surprise that Rehnaa Tu wasn’t picturized on Abhishek and Sonam but was a beautiful dedication to Delhi.
-The scene at the end when a certain amount of order is restored was memorable. It was nice how they show Gobar and Jalebi on one rikshaa and Laalaji’s wife and Suresh on one rikshaa.
-The scene when Pavan says, “Hospital mei setting kartaa hoon” followed by the “mother cow giving baby cow” was amusing.
-Rishi Kapoor’s telling Abhishek to profess his feelings or else “khaali haweliyaan khareedtey phirogey” was really moving.
-The Dahej offering scene with Prem Chopra, Om Puri and Bittu’s prospective father-in-law was well directed and not melodramatic as it could have been turn into.
-Abhishek’s jumping off the rooftops and going after the kite with the monkey was an excellent way of foreshadowing what was about to come.
-“Daraare, daraare hai maathe pe maulaa” plays when Abhishek has been beaten up by everyone and his cell phone falls out…how ironic yet beautiful!
-Binod Pradhan’s cinematography is simply magnificent!
-The Web camera/chatting scene was really sweet…
-I couldn’t stop laughing when Om Puri offers Abhishek Bittu’s wedding card and says “tumhaari behen ki shaadi hai” LOL!
-Sonam’s character of being a girl growing up in modern India where still the “khaandaan ki izzad kaa thekaa betiyo kaa hotaa hai” was well-written.
-The female netaa was quite funny and so was the scene when the two boys drive the car and but Inspector Ranvijay can’t see anyone in the car was awesome.
-The scene where Abhishek expresses his frustration with people’s “vishwaas” in bhagwan was excellent
-loved the lines where he says people “mandir ki ghanti bajaate rahengey yaa din mei paanch baar baar sir tekte rahengey” but won’t try to do anything about their problems.
-The way NRIs are treated was accurate. The jokes about “made in America hain” was realistic.
-It’s interesting how the Kaalaa Bandar ends up uniting Laalaa ji and the Muslim man at the end when they are peeing and decide to walk together since they are scared.
-The scene at Jama Masjid when Abhishek places dollar bills on the Harmonium and takes a photo of it was nice.
-The scene when Abhishek and Rishi see what is happening around them on TV was really powerful.
-The concept behind Dil Gira Dafatan was really innovative and mesmerizing!
-Deepak Dobriyal does an outstanding job. The scene when he breaks down and yells “saale ki aadhi zindaggi mere dukaan pe guzari hai” was so moving.
-I loved how none of the actors tried to outshine one another. That was one of the film’s strong points for me.
-The closing credits combined with Maula Mere was really wonderful. They went to great lengths to acknowledge almost everyone involved with the film. What really got on my nerves was that everyone got up before the credits ended…how disrespectful!
I like how the film isn’t a “meraa bharat mahaan, jai hind!” film. Instead it depicts a complex Delhi, a complex India where even within the chaos there is order, where things do still work. Where despite tensions easily brewing among people, the people are still basically good at heart. An India, which despite having plenty of flaws, still works…Likewise, yes, Delhi-6 is a film with some minor flaws, but it still works!
Tags: Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, AR Rahman, Atul Kulkarni, Binod Pradhan, Cyrus Sahukar, deepak dobriyal, Delhi 6, Dilli 6, Divya Dutta, Kamlesh Pandey, Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Prasoon Joshi, Prem Chopra, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Rishi Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Viya Raaz, Waheeda Rahman
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Very, very nice. Disagree with some minor things, but overall really liked it.
Wow! Very nice post. There is no shortage of brilliance in the film, and you noted so many great scenes.
I just realized after your post that the film needs another viewing just to see the comic scenes again, and then to notice all the intricate details.
Excellent post. I hope the so called critics read this one.
Keeo it coming,
Rajesh
Bang on!! Loved the movie for all these points and many more…
Hi
Amazingly written. It actually took me a second viewing to understand each & every nuances of the movie.
Also would request you to listen to my review on BBC UK. Link attached
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/10/4/1482449/BBC%20%20LoveBollywood%20-%20Piyu%20Di.mp3
This was the first Bollywood film I saw in a theatre, and my first Abhishek film.
On the heels of my second viewing of Slumdog Millionaire and reading that Danny Boyle called it a story to Mumbai… I thought this was a nice love story to Dehli. Using the wrong words, but I can’t think of anything better!
Unfortunately, it’s only in my area for two nights, so I’ll have to wait for the DVD. But I’m glad I saw it and I love your not quite a review!
I loved seeing the final costume – complete with mother board!
The soundtrack is amazing. Even the song with the rap part worked!
Kaitlyn
cannot agree more. The finer aspects covered in the movie are amazing.The characters, the settings perfect!!!the mirror stuff was awesome.Dil Gira Dafatan unbelievable to show Roshan is part of both world now.
The problem which I think is people expected follow up of RDB.Take the RDB concept away and u see what a movie this was
Already planned to buy DVD
You summed up exactly how I felt while watching this amazingly intricate film. I’m really glad you took the effort to give this well-crafted film it’s due. This is why websites like PFC is important – our mainstream newspaper reviews are such BS. Most of the reviewers are just in competition with each other to see who can come up with a better punch-line; or ridicule a movie to get the most chuckles out of their readers. A complicated, superbly written film like Delhi 6 can’t be reviewed in a couple of paragraphs, so they do the easy and lazy job of tearing it apart in a few sentences.
I really appreciate that you took the time out to notice so many subtle layers and details. The writer and the director must have pored over this script for ages. Everything from a stray brick in the wall to an old radio was so diligently incorporated into the film. I really felt that my 8$ for a ticket was quite a bargain, and I RARELY feel that about most films out of Bollywood.
And the characterization of everyone, like you pointed out, was pitch perfect. Vijay Raaz and Deepak Dobriyal were a revelation. After Raghu Romeo, this is the first time I’m seeing Vijay Raaz in a role that does credit to his immense talent. In a time like this when movies like Slumdog Millionaire with it’s shoddy and shallow character arcs and representations are sweeping the Oscars, Delhi 6 hardly deserves the criticism that is being levelled at it. Despite such a huge ensemble cast, Rakyesh Mehra gave each of his characters a clear personality that shone through. And despite that, there were so many little contradictions and tics about each character that you couldn’t just slot them in a particular category. Despite initially putting many of them in little pigeon-holes, Mehra gave them the freedom to navigate freely within and outside those pigeon-holes – just like Masakalli. That ultimately was where I thought Mehra and Prasoon Joshi did the best job. It’s not easy to give each and every character such an overarching arc when there are like 10 or more people we’re following in a 2 and a half hour movie. Children, who normally exist in Bollywood movies just to have their cheeks pulled or flash innocent lives, were given a new life in this movie. They had some of the best scenes and when the movie chose to remind us how MUCH of an influence we can have on them, it made me very uneasy.
Cyrus Sahukar’s character was another high point of the movie for me. Despite being a total player, he was really willing to put himself at risk for Bittu for nothing, really. Even when she’d made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t going to let him get fresh with her. Maybe I’m being naiive, but I really thought he sincerely empathized with her. He wanted to fly the nest and could understand exactly how badly Bittu wanted to do the same thing. There were so many other little things, but if I go on, I’ll ramble on for longer than your post.
Just, a very sincerely felt, thank you. For presenting that alternative perspective. ^_^
What an awesome analysis.i loved the movie but now i want to see it again!
Thanks, Amanda, for this uplifting write-up. There were so many wonderful things in the movie that I felt even half of them would be enough for a person to like it. Vijay Raaz was so hilarious. Motherboard. “Teri behen ki shaadi hai.” “Khandan ki izzat ka theka betiyo ne le rakha hai.”…and so many more.
Y’know what, I’m gonna watch Delhi 6 again.
By the way, I hope this line wasn’t pointing a finger at me -> “I liked it. How dare you not like the film, ignorant fool?” ;)
Congratulations, for a bring-da-house-down film review! Keep ‘em comin’!
excellent.amanada. shows that you not only the intellect but sensitivity to appreciate what this ownderfully nunaced film brings forth. The reviewers do such a shoddy job it seems they watch the film in fast forward and just commented so terribly. You shopudl getthis review printed in teh mainlien dai;ies of India so taht people can understand what a good film and a good viewer actually mean.
Your post itself answers why delhi-6 is not a good movie.You have praised the actors which no doubt has been praised by all reviews but a movie we do not good actors we need strong characters e.g Black Friday.
Secondly everbody is going gaga over music and rightly mentioned this picture should have been released as montage of music videos by A.R.Rahman.
The movie has few engrossing movements but movie is not engrossing.
All the scenes u mentioned are really superb.But a film do not stand on just a few scenes alone.They should be cohesive and contribute to the entire film and that is not happening here.The supporting cast is excellant but all those scenes u mentioned is there anything original in it?How many corrupt cops like Vijay Raaz we have seen in countless movies before?How many middle class dads like Om puri in countless films before?In fact those type dads are becoming rare species.Today parents force kids to take part in reality shows and win prizes.At least in that aspect this film is outdated.
Great review, I agree with most of the things you said. Some of the songs seemed misplaced, but they were shorter versions than the ones in the audio. I am going to see it again.
Amanda..you put down what I wanted to write..good stuff..:)
i completely agree with every point you make. i dont think i myself could have put it better.
to the people saying good actors dont make good characters, and few good scenes dont make a movie good etc etc–here is what you need to realize. one, i dont think she was merely praising the actors, she was praising their performances, their depiction of the characters, otherwise there is no point to an actor. two, dehli 6 had more than enough scenes to make it a great film. no film even made is perfect in every scene, i promise you that. and i dont think the points outlined here are the only good parts of the film by far, there are many many more. for example the whole bit of abhishek slaping vijay raaz and the following sequence. the entire concept and execution of the ram leela. the editing, the way the film said so many complex things very simply. the romance–of the city with its inhabitants, the amazing camera work for the “eyes of the kala bandar” segments. the scene with rishi kapoor telling abhishek that once upon a time he too loved abhishek’s mother. i could go on, but i think i made my point. yes there are flaws, but nothing is perfect. this one, however, makes a pretty decent attempt to–and thats laudable.
so by digging out flaws about a energetic, and heartfelt movie you are making it clear that their has to be some exterior motive to this effort of pulling this film down.
@Ayush,
Let me make my self clear when i go for movie, my only motive is give me a engrossing story, where form of art is supposed to entertain Human Beings.
The problem with the movie is that tries to be many things at a time, instead deciding what it wants to be.
You yourself are prasing camerawork.
Nothing is perfect, we do not expect movies to be perfect.But truth is this movie is one of thos movies which would sound great on paper, but in terms of execution it falls on its face.
awesome post maj-ja aa gaya! well explained. I hope rakesh see this post!
”Delhi itself is the protagonist of the film”…Now that should have been the tagline for the film.
Amanda ji, pata kya?
I am glad u mentioned all those things as i’m still quite undecided about the film.
I do want to view it again, but more so for the technical aspects.
The biggest problem I had was the misleading promo’s.
They can’t blame most ppl for being annoyed with what probably is a very well made film, as the impression the promo’s gave, & what it actually turned out to be was quite different.
I do have a problem with Abhishek’s character though.
I just beats me why he’d make that choice to stay or even praise the people.
I know it’s just a film, par aisa kaunsa NRI hoga jo itna kuch hone ke baad will become a part of India??
SRK in ‘Swades’ had different reasons, but Roshan just didn’t gel with me :-(
I know they have to get bums on seats so they can’t call the film ‘Kaala Bandar’, but phir bhi, the story should have been reflected in the adverts.
Shaayad itna bada jhatka na lagta???
Yeah Amandaji Vijay Raaz did his role quite well- no doubts about that.but when you are supposed to show that the hindu-muslim tension in Delhi-6 is so serious to be shown live on T.V etc, what do you see- the police for all is still nothing but a motley crew led by none other than our man- Vijay Raaz- wah! how convenient.
And yes its idiotic to even want to know things like whether Divya Dutta & Atul Kulkarni had a great life together, what did Abhishek’s parents do etc-but tell me what on earth was Raghubir Yadav doing in the movie? Sonam trying to run away with a random nukkad wala- Cyrus Sahukar was plain dumb- especially when she has some feelings for Abhishek.
Abhishek with a kala bandar suit bringing out hindu-muslim unity unintentionally isnt something that I fathom.rather the whole way the sequence of events were led to didnt look too convincing at all.
Of course I say again Binod Pradhan & ARR were brilliant.And a lot of individual moments like the motherboard scene, the bhajan competition,
Deepak Dobriyal’s outburst etc were all brilliant.But thats where the problem lies- its got a lot of brilliant moments, but to me they do not make up for a great movie as a whole.
But I really appreciate you for having gone so much into the details & explained why the movie worked for you!!!
@cinemausher & sharath
I really don’t understand HOW Mehra could have made his characters stand out more. They were BEAUTIFULLY crafted characters and displayed a range of emotions from camaraderie to guilt to grief to anger to hate to love. There was humor, mixed with a bit of preachiness. And each character was given a clear character arc. Bittu’s quiet desperation boiled over towards the end when she was willing to commit social suicide and give up her entire family. Om Puri’s character had flashes of guilt for dominating over his entire family. The unwed bua character had a beautiful moment where she encouraged Bittu while she was running away, and then once Bittu was gone, she allowed herself ONLY that minute to tear up – imagining the possibilities if she had the guts to do what Bittu had done. Then there was Dobriyal, whose character navigated such a range of emotions like love, innocence, laughter, shock, hatred – all finally coalescing into the most destructive explosion, where he ended up hurting himself and the people he loved. For me, the most heart-breaking moment like Amanda said, was when this loving, compassionate, kind-hearted Muslim who worshipped Hanuman collapsed in a heap outside the Hindus’ quarter screaming – “saale ki aadhi zindaggi mere dukaan pe guzari hai.” Yes, the actor is important. But, so is this very conflicted character that is WRITTEN out that way.
I think most people have a lot of trouble reconciling the terribly in-your-face ending with the rest of the movie. And maybe we should also see it that way. The story DEFINITELY has a plot. And I think just the PLOT of the ending would have been beautiful, if Abhishek was allowed to really die and there was no one explaining things in BOLD WORDS. And if Amitabh Bachchan was COMPLETELY left out. The film lost itself by trying to dumb the ending down to a KG-1 student’s level. But, this is SUCH a minor infraction compared to the whole overarching plot of the movie that I don’t see why people have such a problem with it. I think if you couldn’t see the movement in the plot, from first establishing these characters, then showing what temporary hysteria can do to them; you just didn’t want to see it. I never felt that the movie was just vignettes. It was definitely always in motion.
As to comments about Vijay Raaz’s corrupt cop act being cliche, I’d like to ask Sharath how many cops he’s met in India? Dude, they’re mostly ALL corrupt. At least those at the level of Raaz. If the cop in the movie was going to be a good cop, I’d have been MUCH less willing to stomach this. And if you just saw Raaz’s character as a “corrupt” cop, you obviously watched the movie with both eyes tightly shut. What about when he allows the mockery of himself to continue? What when he lets Dobriyal go in the end? What when he sincerely tries to stop the Muslims and the Hindus from killing each other at the end? Even if you didn’t just fall in LOVE with the dialogues he delivered in that very authentic Haryanvi accent, at least don’t call him one-dimensional.
Have to say though, that’s a beautiful write-up, Amanda ji :-)
Excellent..I want to see the movie again now!! Never realized that the Rehana Tu song was in connection with Delhi, kept wondering why it came in that particular scene..Thanks for the post
@Anushka,
Well see the characters stand out, but when we go for movie, we expect a story i f want to see an actors talent , i would go for drama.
E.g. 12 Angry Men had so many welll etched characters but in the end it was movie , which stood out.
The problem with Delhi-6 is we take home songs and characters but not the movie nor the city.I mean delhi was so beautifully captured by Anurag in Dev.D , you can feel the love for city and cinema.
Unfortunately not in case of Delhi-6
Amanda!..Loved your review!..I hated Delhi 6..even wrote a negative post for it..but now have deleted the post..you’ve answered all my problems..am going to watch it again asap!
This is an amazing post. I particularly liked your comment on Vijay Raaz. Even I think he has given a brilliant performance in this movie. In fact you should check out his upcoming flick Barah Aana. I happpened to see the movie at the Pune Fim Festival, and am completely bowled over by his acting. He plays the lead along with Naseeruddin Shah in the movie. In my opinion this is one of his best performances, well complimented by the script and the storyline. The movie revolves around the same-old problem of social inequality, but the execution is very fresh. Its a light hearted, slice of life movie, bordering on dark comedy. Though the movie is yet to release in India, you can check out their blog in the mean time for more info on the movie : http://barah-aana-the-film.blogspot.com/ In my opinion its gonna be one of the best movies of 2009!
I don’t think many others realized the connection of ‘Rehna tu..’ either Hemanth.
Not ur fault though, as we were lead to believe it was the Roshan-Bittu love track by promo’s.
Even i’m seeing it in a different light, thanks to Amanda :-)
@cinemausher
Ahhh… well, I personally thought there were stories and plots. Almost every character had their own personal story. And then the overarching plot was the kaala bandar thingy driving people insane. apart from the ending, i thought the movie was actually moving along very well. but i guess that all comes down to whether someone liked a story or not. which is very subjective.
also, i think that was rakyesh mehra’s intention. about you taking home the characters. they ARE the city. as abhishek bachchan says somewhere in that TERRIBLE nri accent – “the people make it work.” :P i havent seen dev d although i’m DYIIIING to, but from what i can tell from the previews, delhi is a backdrop to dev. its external to him. thats why you probably “feel” more of the city. in delhi 6, mehra has completely internalized delhi into its people. so you see the city through its characters, not the other way around. and this is also a very particular galli in old delhi, mind. this isnt about a lot of other peoples’ delhi. its about delhi-6. period. it isn’t a tourist brochure on delhi as a whole.
One point which is shown couple of times is the chandrayaan. It may point two things one the country works and second the technology and cultural divide (one side ppl believe in Kaala Bandar , religion etc. and on other hand we have advanced to have a moon mission) .
Whoa. I was actually really hesitant to post my write-up on Delhi-6, so I’m very surprised and overwhelmed by the positive response it has received
@Tanul: Thanks!
@Saad: Thank you.
Seriously, there are so many layers to the film and so many details to pay attention to that one viewing won’t suffice.
@Rajesh: Wow! Thank you
@Satya: Thank you!
@Piyu: Thanks. Sure, will listen to the review later on today.
@Kaitlyn: Thanks. And, I hope you see many more Bollywood films! Yup, Rahman’s compositions really are wonderful.
@arrfan: “The problem which I think is people expected follow up of RDB.Take the RDB concept away and u see what a movie this was” Yeah, I guess going into a film with really high expectations or expecting the film to outdo the director’s previous film does in most instances lend itself to disappointment…
@Anushka: Thank you for such kind words, Anushka. Yeah, most of the reviews about Delhi-6 really are very harsh. I don’t mind people being harsh in their reviews, what I was taken aback by is that most of the reviews are so very poorly written. BTW, not just Mehra and Prasoon Joshi, Kamlesh Pandey also did an excellent job in developing the screenplay—the film really tackles a lot of issues, which is worth applauding. BTW, do check out Bharadwaj’s The Blue Umbrella/Chatri Chor—that’s another excellent film (all of Bharadwaj’s films are excellent, lol!) which features a child as one of the protagonists. There is an old b&w film called Bootpolish which also offers the children strong roles.
@Surabhi: Thank you
@Kenny: Thank you! Bilkul, Vijay Raaz was awesome! Haanji, jaao jaao, dekh ke aao film dobaaraa! Aggar Delhi-6 ki ticket sales iss write-up ki wajaah se increase ho jaaye, toh mujhe khushi hi hogi :-D Nahin, was not pointing a finger at you. lol!
@Tuhsar: Thank you very much ji :-)
(and thank you for helping me solve the formatting issues)
@Kunal: Wow, thanks! lol, humaari itni approach nahin hai ki main apne thoughts about D-6 ko India ke dailies mei chaap sakoon.
@cinemausher: Thank you for sharing your views!
@sharath: Well, a film consists of scenes, and as I tried to indicate in my post, there are plenty, not “just a few scenes” which are memorable. Vaisey, if one were to explore India, you will realize that there certainly are still parents similar to Om Puri’s character in the film—it’s not as outdated as you suggest…
@kal: thanks! yeah, I was kinda hoping the entire bhor bhaye song would be in the film. lol. Cool! Enjoy the second viewing of the film! Even I feel like viewing the film again.
@Sourav: Thank you
@Ayush: Thanks! And, yes, you are absolutely right—I was not “merely praising the actors, she was praising their performances, their depiction of the characters…”
@Jagpreet: Oye hoye, aap humaare post pe aaye! Yes, even I hope Rakesh sees this post ;)
@Steve: “Now that should have been the tagline for the film.” Too bad ROM didn’t ask me for inputs on marketing. lol. Hmmm, I dunno, vaise, I do know NRIs (I’m not joking) who would become a part of India despite all of India’s flaws. Duniyaa mei har taraah ke log hotey hai…And sometimes the decisions a person makes are surprising and aren’t based on pure logic. Vaisey, “jhatka” toh A Wednesday mei bhi lagaa thaa, but most people don’t crib about that film’s surprise…
@Sethumadhavan: Thanks, Sethuji, for sharing your thoughts about the film. And, you are absolutely right, some parts of the film aren’t entirely realistic. Although, sadly, there are some girls out there like Bittu who, lost in their junoon, would have done something stupid like running away with a nukkad-waalaa photographer…Cyrus wasn’t entirely a “random” person for Sonam, though. They were familiar with each other. Anyway, for me the strong points of D-6 outshined the negative. But I don’t expect everyone to like any given film. Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to art. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, that’s the beauty of art, we all respond differently to it
@Anushka (23): Wow, awesome thoughts and observations—you really did a great job of explaining how Mehra makes the characters stand out! And, I totally agree with you…I really think the film would have left even more of an impact if Roshan died at the end. That would have been a very powerful ending. And, in fact, they had shot two versions of the end, one which did show Roshan dying. However, I guess they chose the happier ending to appeal to a wider audience segment…Anyway, just as you said, the film’s strong points really outshine the minor flaws.
@Steve: Thanks, Steveji
“even I’m seeing it in a different light” lol, you’re making me sound like the mirror-waalaa fakeer. hehe.
@Hemanth: You’re most welcome!
@Jehan: Thanks! Didn’t know my post would have such an impact ki tumne puraa post hi delete kar diyaa
@Meghnaroy: Thanks! Will check out the link to the blog and am looking forward to Barah Aana now that you’ve recommended it.
beautiful thoughts although I disagree with a few of them.
@Anushka,
all i can say is delhi-6 is an experiment gone terribly wrong, it wants to be something ,in the end movie falls flat.
The movie is neither plot driven or character driven.ROM was impressed with characters so much that he forgot he had story to narrate.
Climax was one of the most ridiculous in recent times.
Amanda: Great post, yaar. I loved the film. But I have some problems with it. It had too in-your-face message towards the end.
Now you have addressed this in your post; and I am giving my counter!
RDB was preachy? No way, man. RDB was successful was it was not preachy. The message that RDB gives was told in such an entertaining way; Madhavan saying that “you have to make a country better” and Sidharth saying the same thing in the climax to answer one of the questions! LRM was preachy, but the film’s tone itself was in-your-face, so the preachy part did not stand out like a sore thumb. Whereas in D6, about 2 hours of the film was so subtle, and the last 20 minutes or so becomes so melodramatic and “spoon-fed”.
Hi Amanda,
Aapki Saari baatein sahi maani …
Yes, the film had its moments but overall the film was lacking something ..
I do agree with the things like but i have my own grouses-
1. Every body acted brilliantly .. even the buaji was very sweet .. But sirf acting se baat nahi banti naa .. kahaani me bhi dam hona chahiye .. I personally think ki the film started off well but intervall tak aate aate it lost its grip .. and after that it became a frustrating homage to Kaala Bandar Episode … I mean I haven’t had the faintest of the idea ki poori movie bandar pe banaa denge … I was REALLY overdone …
2. ARR created magic.. But the timing of Rehna tu was terribly wrong, I seriously thought that it would be a romantic ballad but it turned out to be an ode to delhi .. What the heck .. I set this as my caller tune to impress my GF but …
Dil gira was mesmerizing,true ..But still they couldn’t justify the relationship of Sonam and Abhishek the way it should have been … Sonam’s kiddish decision to flee away with suresh was also a bit confusing …
Abhishek’s Motorola advertising was also overdone
3. Abhishek was an American to the core … his transformation to a chandni chowk lover was also not clear … Usko kya cheej ne kheencha dilli ki taraf …
Sonam ne, Dadi ne, Purani yaado ne, ya delhi ke so called beautiful scenery ne … i dont think any modern guy would decide to stay in delhi just becoz ‘Ye shehar nahi mehfil hai …’
4. Ending … Abhishek ko bandar ban ne ki kya jaroorat thi bhai ??? Koi aisi ladki se kyu pyaar karega jo kisi aire gaire photographer ke saath apna ghar chhod ke bhaag rahi hai !!!
The hindu muslim riots …Too banal and too preachy … the eating-jalebis-in-heaven sequence was totally unrequired … Amitabh ki jaroorat nahi thi ji .. Creative liberty ke naam pe to ye log abhishek ko bhainse ki pillion ride leke yamlok tak jaate huye bhi dikha denge ..
5. And yes, I too thought that the guy carrying the mirror should have been Prasoon Joshi.. May be because the actual guy was nearly a look alike of him …
6. Vijay Raj, Deepak Dobriyal, Atul kulkarni, Pawan Malhotra and Divya Dutaa. Its seen rarely nowadays that So may brilliant actors are used so intelligently. It was the only win of the movie for me. They all elevated the film and made it atleast a one time watch.
Overall It was a trying-too-hard-to-teach film which didn’t work for me …
@ arrfan –
Bhai sahab .. Bade bhole ho aap … First thing, Kaala Bandar ke samay tak Chandrayaan ka naam bhi nahi suna tha kisi ne … To un logo ne thoda sa timing mistake kar di and I think ki wo chandrayaan tha bhi nahi Wo to Nasa ka koi launch tha …
Doosri baat .. Uska “the country works” “technology” and “cultural divide” jaisi cheejo se koi lena dena nahi tha …
Wo to ek jariya tha un do characters ke Hormonal Ubaal(boiling) ko show karne ka …
So i think u r a bit mistaken…
Hi Amanda,
I loved the film. Will happily watch it again too. In his intro to the book, The Films in my life, Truffaut says ‘he’s only writing about the films he loves.’
Why waste time writing about the films that one didnt like?
D6 is one of the worst movies i have ever come across. I was bored to death and felt like coming out of the theatre midway..
Dont tell me that i am not intelligent enough to understand the metaphors and symbolics…But the question is were they excecuted propperly to engage the paying public…
If you cant connect to the avg movie goer then whats the use????
I am msure BO wont be too kind to this movie…
The only thing worked for me in the movie is the performnace of Vijay Raaz..
@Avi,
Completely agree with you.
@Avi,
. As far as I remember it was launch of chandrayan. I need to watch the movie again to reconfirm it:)
Even delhi metro was not there when monkey man episode happened
There are some creative liberties taken with monkey man episode to stress on the message.
@Faraaz: Thanks.
@cinemausher: Do you seriously see no plot in Delhi-6 at all? For real? “Climax was one of the most ridiculous in recent times”…if you look at the IMDB list of Hindi films from 2008, you’ll be surprised that there are “more ridiculous” films and climaxes, compared to which Delhi-6 looks like a masterpiece…
@Anand: Thanks, yaar!
Of course we all have problems with the film…it isn’t a flawless film. No film is flawless…there is bound to be someone in the world who will pick out a flaw in any given film. All I am suggesting is that in my humble opinion let us not get so lost in overemphasizing and dwelling in the flaws of Delhi-6 that we ignore and forget the overall beauty of the film…
Yes, I think RDB was also “preachy”…Kamlesh Pandey himself said that he only likes to write films which have messages…but the film preaches in an entertaining way…I suppose the term I used (preachy) is wrong. What I meant was the films I had mentioned are “message oriented films”
@Avi: The Kala Bandar is a metaphor…it isn’t literally about a “kaalaa bandar”…the “kaalaa bandar” symbolizes a lot and helps lead to plot development and character development in the film. But, yes, I do agree that the film’s marketing was rather poor and audiences should have been prepared to a certain extent about what would be coming their way…lol!
I also thought that Rehna Tu would be a song picturized on Sonam and Abhishek, but I really appreciated that they gave the song a new dimension by dedicating it to Delhi. I thought it was innovative.
I think Sonam felt Abhishek was just going to leave her and go back to America (as indicated in the song Bhor Bhaye which plays during the Raam-Leela and then we see Sonam in the metro getting teary-eyed prior to the Indian Idol auditions). Yes, her decision is very kiddish to flee with Suresh, but there sadly there are people who make such kiddish decisions in the world.
About “I don’t think any modern guy would decide to stay in delhi…”, there are people who do just that! “Koi aisi ladki se kyu pyaar karega jo kisi aire gaire photographer ke saath apna ghar chhod ke bhaag rahi hai?” lol, well pyaar kaa koi explanation nahin.
Hi Sriram,
Glad you liked the film!
“Why waste time writing about the films one didn’t like?” I know! I’d rather watch good films in that time
@Victory: Really? One of the worst films you’ve ever come across? I suppose it’s a good thing you haven’t seen the majority of Hindi flicks that come out each year which are much, much worse. lol.
I think I’m in love with you
…you’ve written everything I loved about the film but couldn’t express in words …thank you!
@Amanda –
To continue with your symbolism thing, the same ppl used Bhagat Singh’s story in RDB too .. but it blended with the current social scenerio in a far better way then the Kaala Bandar thing in D6.
Rehna Tu was innovative. True. I agree.
You give me one person who says ki Shahrukh’s decision to stay in India, in Swades, was not palatable. Compared to that Abhishek’s decision seems so unreal and unclear.
And, After watching films like Slumdog, LBC, Dev D in a row, your expectations are quite high with a film like D6 and u go there expecting an encore from the makers.
Thats where this film couldn’t fulfill its promise.
Otherwise, I agree with most of the things you said.
And yes.. Jo explain kiya ja sake wo Pyaar hi kya !!!
Almost everything I thought about the film worded beautifully.
‘ve been following PFC for a long time..but’ve commented very rarely…Certain discussions off late provoked the following words..Couldn’t resisi despite the cheesiness..
Wah re hypocrisy
u come in all sizes.
that bloody “intellectual” tag
is the baap of all suprises.
pardesi ki pikture mein
sirf technique or(aur) spirit dekho
par desi hits mein
srk ki mooch mein, akki ki daadhi mein logic dhoondo.
Wah re hypocisy…
problems dikhao to
“solutions kahan hai bhai?”
solutions sujhayo to
“preachy stuff..u know…muhje nahi bhaai”
Wah re hypocisy…
bounce ho jaye
to ‘metaphoric’ atyachaar.
SIRF mujhe samajh aaye
to ’subtlety’ works yaar.
aur log bhi samajh jaayein
to “dumbed down” “crowd pleaser” “bekaar”
Wah re hypocisy…
Fruit salad mein chahiye
Masala pepper aur salt.
Butter chicken mangwa ke
banao balanced diet ka chart.
Wah re hypocrisy….
awesome writeup..
watched the movie only today and was wondering what the hell the mainstream revieweres were thinking when the reviewed this gr8 movie…
And I got all my anwers here.
thanks amanda
Well done Amanda .. Indeed this film is much much better .. I have read some reviews of the film and some guys slammed it badly .. Positivly I couldn’t see any flaw in the film so thought whats wrong with those guys.. some people don want to see themself in the mirror and slam the one who is trying to show them so I am just in confusion are the Ugly .. whatever.. This film works and needs a different perspactive to look at .. In india people like emotions like some scenes that makes you cry or some make s you jump over the seat or any magical moment . delhi 6 certainly not having much of those directly .. but actually the dark comedy in it did all that I was lookinf for and I guess I think most people ignored that ..
One has to feel the movie its detailing and its iapact on the real life .. its a lovely stuff a must watch ..
I am going for it this Sunday ..and it wud be my Third time in the hall for delhi -6
Nice write up. Agree with mostly everything.
The very last scene – with AB Jr. in mirror using sign language to say “You and I rock!” – is very sweet.
@Avi: I dunno…I guess I didn’t feel the need to compare D-6 to RDB. I suppose the decision Abhishek/Roshan makes (to stay in India despite what happens to him there) may come across as illogical to most people—but the movie is about so much more…much, much more than just about one character’s decision regarding where to live…
@Shobhit: Welcome!
@Bala: Thanks! Found your poem and observations interesting. Hope you share your insights more frequently on PFC.
@Praveen: Thank you so much! I was wondering the same thing when I saw the film, therefore ended up writing this post
@Shubham: Thanks! Wow, hope you enjoyed your third viewing of Delhi-6!
@Zishaan: Thanks!
Here is a recent and in-depth interview of Kamlesh Pandey (one of the writers for Delhi-6): http://planetbollywood.com/displayArticle.php?id=s022809105529
I watched the film over the weekend, and I really liked it. The way most reviewers trashed it, I had no expectations at all. But it was an amazing experience. True, it had a lot of problems. I’ve gone over all the posts here and agree with a lot of pros and cons of the movie. But no way it deserved all that harsh criticism…the film has a lot of layers to it and I appreciate that above everything else.
Oh, by the way, I totally forgot to thank Amanda for this excellent writeup. It echoes exactly what I felt about the movie as well..
Thanks Amanda!!!
Someone or the other posts a comment that echos the esscence of my thoughts. So, the need is very rare.
But this post of yours was too identical to my thoughts..rather..exact, I’d say..
Like..while reading these lines
“and it is those very people which rush him to the hospital ”
the lines “tu zakhm de…” were playing in my ‘manas-patal’…and then I read ur next line…
@Doc Ock: Thanks!
@Bala: Thanks :-) Glad to hear you share the same views I do on Delhi-6!
kick ass movie and a kick ass review..!
Agree agree agree!!
@Sahil: thank you.
I totally agree.. I can’t understand why people are being so judgemental and calling the movie a flop already.. its a likable and very well made movie.. Made me miss India!! I have written something similar in my blog. Check it out.. :-)
Amanda ji!!
I went back. Saw it again.
Absolutely loved it this time round!!
Obviously I put my ‘Amanda-specs’ on and viewed it!!
It’s not that I hated it earlier, but I was very undecided about it.
Chalo, ab toh mera mind ban hi geya :-)
It’s definitely far more enjoyable on 2nd viewing.
Ur views helped quite alot, as I just didn’t pick up on the other aspects in the film 1st time around.
Well done Amanda ji, aakhir mere ko bhi apne side par le hi aayi! :-)
Hi Amanda, I loved this post – and I followed your link from Great Bong’s site. I also loved the movie and I thought I would share with you another good review of it at http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2009/02/21/review-delhi-6/.
amanda. excellent post. agree with everything uve written.
@mayurica: thanks.
@anamika: thanks for sharing the review link.
@Vandana: some nice poetry on your blog!
@Steve: Oho, tussi phir vekh liti film! Challo ji, glad you took the initiative to see the film again and that’s great that you enjoyed it. ‘Amanda-specs’ kuch toh kaam aaye