Delhi-6 – PFC – Review No. 16
iView Author: NIMISH ATRA (Pune, India)
Email: hellonimish@yahoo.com
Delhi-6 – PFC – Review No. 16
First things first, I saw Delhi-6 twice – It was disappointing at first watch, Got slightly worse the second time.
Now, when one opens a personal review with a clear verdict the biggest drawback is there might be few who loved the movie and would look at points with nibs to disagree, And then few who hated it with reasons to agree. It might disappoint both. Here’s my belated attempt to list-out what worked for me in the movie, and what didn’t.
Before I begin, a note to my expectations from Delhi-6 :- It started with ‘Aks’, Raveena Tandon’s “Rabba” was the promo invitation but by the time movie ended I was impressed enough to look-up the director’s name (he was known as “Rakesh Mehra” then). Circa 2006, We escaped from College’s republic day program to watch first-day-first-show of his 2nd movie – Rang De Basanti – at objectivity, complete packaging and acquiesce feel it was one of the most incredible movie-watching experiences of my life. I agree, the movie was not flawless, no movie has ever been, but when we look at the top-grosser’s Bollywood list of 21st century, RDB and DCH really stand out by miles. Rakesh Mehra (now known as ” Rakeysh Mehra”) had become ‘almost’ Vishal Bhardwajish to me – What script he’s working on, What movie he’s doin next, What’s the cast etc all – and then came Delhi-6. Created by the same team, ROM, Kamlesh Pandey, Prasoon Joshi, UTV, Binod Pradhan, Impressive cast, Teasing teasers, Rahman with one of the finest OST’s in recent memory, and of course a name which suggests its shot at that incredibly charming place called Chandni Chowk. It’s not everyday that I book two shows of a movie before its release. There are many who feel its my fault and we shouldn’t burden ourselves with such expectations – But c’mon guys, lets face it, we don’t even buy a balloon without an expectation….Some things are just humanly impossible….What’s possible is analyzing the movie in my own capacity, keeping a rationality check and without looking down on anyone who differs, And here I go…
What Works….
1) Concept and Metaphors :- It was beyond doubt, Kamlesh Pandey and ROM make one hell of a creative team, these guys work on their script for years, So when they announce they’ve a story to tell – It has to be something extra-ordinary. And it was, in a way we’ve rarely been presented before – Parallel events with a message, chained to a singular concept, driven by multiple metaphors. That pushes off everything in the background, the characters, the plotline – this is so poetically fascinating and challenging at the same time. The simplified complexity and the brilliance of the concept is awe-inspiring!
2) Intention :- Okie, Call me old-fashioned but well-intentioned movies with a message still work with me. Be it social, secular, patriotic, humanitarian, whatever….I watch them and appreciate them.
3) Narration :- It looks fascinating when someone tweaks the convention of art, It could be an involute subset of the conceptual nature, but when the craft of a story-teller turns him into an artist – he deserves a mention. It would be unfair to expect every modestly plotted movie to end-up in the league of ‘The Mirror’ – but in my opinion even the attempt is commendable enough. Subsequently the pace of the movie and the story take a backseat, narration roots, while expounding the sect its not plot/character-driven – Brave and laudable.
4) Flashes of brilliance :- Rakeysh Mehra is a very fine film-maker, we all know that – And I believe even a mediocre movie could have clap-worthy sequences – Delhi-6 is better, and here are a few….Dil Gira Dafattan (the songs and picturization itself is worth the movie ticket and more), the first 60 seconds of Masakalli (on Sonam’s head, the frame, the colours, the sun, superbly choreographed, flock flows overhead, camera fluids left, excellent stuff Mr. Pradhan!), Jama Masjid and early morning shots, Very fine Delhi-detailing at places, Some memorable intense and lights moments that stay with us.
5) Support Cast :- The finest ensemble cast in a long time – Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra, Atul Kulkarni, Deepak Dobriyal, Waheeda Rehman, Supriya Pathak, Vijay Raaz, Divya Dutta, Rishi Kapoor – We have seen all these guys before, transforming seemingly plain cinematic moments into unforgettable ones – There are many in this movie too which have been widely discussed in some brilliantly composed reviews on PFC before. Haven’t we heard, Good casting is half the battle won? Or is it??
What Doesn’t….
1) Lead pair :- Abhishek and Sonam, the latter looks like one of the more promising things to have happened to bollywood lately and the former, well, he’s sincere, Alright. But who’s idea was his mannerism? More than being an NRI his character looks like a desi wannabe! Both of them performed very well in some scenes, but together – it doesn’t work. Not at all. Their chemistry, the apparent love and emotions and their story – Forget about him staying back in India for her eventually (Or some other ‘reasoning’ I read here which stem out of few phrases of an open-worded track that barely seemed convincing to me even after the 2nd watch) the way their romance develops along the movie its not worth even the 200 bucks he spent on the monkey-suit. Question – But do we really need a strong romantic track in all our movies? Answer – No, but when the crux of the movie itself hinges on protagonist’s decision for his inability to let the lady go, then Yes. Question – What’s wrong with subtle treatment, It shouldn’t be always Salim-Anarkali grandeur on screen? Answer – Absolutely, but going by how ’subtle’ it was in Delhi-6 one wouldn’t have been surprised of Roshan would have chosen Bua instead of Bittu…!
2) Support Characters :- Yes, the same characters portrayed by some of country’s finest actors which left me completely disillusioned. Sure, they look fine, speak, emote, act well et all which we expect from these gifted actors – but what’s beyond that? Each of them have one categorical flaw – communalism, casteism, religion, abuse of power, skewered social and gender politics, and each of those characters remain immersed in that state with almost zero character complexity/growth till the climax when their collective societal humanity wonderfully awakes. Now simply recall the support characters in RDB (I’m not set to compare Delhi-6 and RDB, but can’t think of any better standing reference point) in my opinion every character was ascribely supportive there – And that explains why it doesn’t work here, for me atleast. Question – But it’s a different film, RDB was about the external and system, Delhi-6 asks us to look inside and its a ‘Personal Journey’ within. Answer – I know. I saw the movie’s poster. But does it succeed? RDB worked so well (with most, and nation-wide – we all witnessed) cause using a superb screenplay and parallels it achieves what it’s set out for – We could empathize with the bunch of casual, chalta-hai type junkies who get transformed by events and the human metaphors with defined analogies they encounter while portraying Hindustan Socialist Republican Association revolutionaries in a documentary at the same time – We empathize cause we have been shown injustice, heartbreaks, fear, insecurities on the way – We believed in their journey and are convinced at them choosing to make decisions which were larger than life and incorrect. Now Delhi-6 – If it’s supposed to be a personal film from the perspective of the characters in it then I would expect it to take me inside the heads of the characters and their psyche, tell me know how they feel, think or function, and eventually how they transform through the journey. Now did any of these characters make a believable journey? Did the movie really make anyone pause and think about what they are doing? Or did they invite the audience to be a part of their ‘journey within’ even once? Question – Yes, I thought they did. How could you not feel for them? I thought they were extremely well-defined and justified. Answer – I don’t. Chargeable offense, is it?
3) Songs :- I’m not a huge fan of songs-in-the-movie idea, In fact I’m all for this new songless, small-movie trend, But at the same time I’d remember RDB and Dev.D as 2 movies which were pathbreaking in the way they positioned the tracks – No lip-sync, precision-choreography, loo-break musicals – And at times when it has become sort of cliche, Songs in these movies ACTUALLY took the narrative and substituted the dialogues. I went through few interpretations in some very well-written reviews on PFC, but one line and 2 verses being the justification doesn’t work for me – In my opinion, the amazing soundtrack was heartbreakingly let-down (not entirely though, I must add) and barely helped the narrative. Needless to say, in my opinion, is as key a phrase here as in the rest of this post.
4) Look and Feel :- As a photographer, I’ve always believed the Ghats of Banaras and Delhi’s Chandani Chowk are 2 of the most exotic densely inhabited locations in India, and I was just waiting for this movie to bowl me over with its visual imagery but….Well, In the previous movie (with considerably lesser scope) Mr. Pradhan left an indelible mark, Here too there are some spectacular visuals, but where is Delhi 6? Those who are raving about it, please tell me, apart from the Jama Masjid frames did you feel Chandni Chowk even once? The fervour, the magic, the aroma, the time-stand-still feel, the essense, the thrill-a-second boulevard? I believe they re-created the settings in Rajasthan, but if this was the look-n-feel one cant help but scream WHY? Its ironical that the visuals remind me of two turkey’s – Sunday and Asoka – the former inspite of being a torture captured Delhi6 surprisingly well at end, And in Asoka, I happened to observe, SRK borrowed 2 big pillars from somewhere which are used through-out the movie at many sequences to illustrate the Mauryan-era feel – And then watch Delhi-6 and experience those 2 arcs and bylane shutters in countless sequences! Any other movie I might have overlooked, but its ‘Delhi-6′.
5) Technically :- Editing, Dubbing, Background score, to be precise. I’ve noticed many guys spoke about the background score is appalling, but somehow editing too left a lot to be desired. We don’t expect every movie to be as breath-takingly edited as Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire but still – the scene between Roshan and Dadi at the haveli, on terrace with Bittu, the brilliantly sung Raghuvir Yadav’s Ramleela scenes – too many to overlook for the perfect cut. Check out the dubbing in the sequence where Abhishek pins Deepak, the traffic sequence, When rioters ransack the shop and also keep counting the scenes shot with croma background – though I’m completely aware these guys understand technical finesse far better than me, and perhaps that is what makes it more tragic. And here’s the winner – In 2009 do we really have to shoot a car sequence in a Studio with Projector’s background? Is it such a big deal, Sir? I thought its bygone, since we laughed our hearts out in one Farhan Akhtar directed song 7 years back mocking the same…!
6) Tone and Texture :- Someone told me that ‘masses’ wouldn’t relate to Delhi-6 cause its very subtle and doesn’t have impact moments (Ever wondered how easily we divide MASSES and CLASSES, Always keeping ourselves in the latter? More on that another day!) – And my first reaction was “Really?”….Is Delhi-6 subtle cinema? Not loud you mean?….I saw a movie which had Cyrus Sahukar in anything-but-witty cameo, Followed by a dozen, equally blaring, parallels Pawan Malhotra-Atul Kulkarni, Vijay Razz-Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta-Delhi-6, Sis-in-law’s and brothers, Dadi-Pregnant cow, Kala Bandar-it’s circuit etc etc. I did see the deft touch at many places too, but far exceeded by the over-the-top ones. Someone mentioned these tracks were ‘loudly authentic’ cause that’s the way Delhiwala’s are (Thank you!) Or were those tracks attempted humour? In my opinion it was neither funny nor authentic, All it succeeds in is providing Delhi-6 this irritating tone which later borders spoon-feeding its audience at times too. An untouchable publicly strips an immoral, corrupt policeman in a way so typical of the 80’s, Protagonist stands in between 2 communities and delivers sermons like his father used to decades back, In fact one could accurately predict how the key people from the sects gonna respond too, I could go on and on – But looking at ROM’s track-record isn’t it obvious he’s not a person who’d actually make a ’subtle’ movie, So this argument doesn’t make much sense anyway – And if THIS was subtle then what were Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Swades’ or Ang Lee’s ‘Brokeback Mountain’? Silent movies??
7) Originality :- This one’s different for every individual. Like how we felt when we saw Sanjay Gupta’s ‘Zinda’ after ‘Oldboy’, Or how the jokes at the Great Indian Laughter Challenge jar when you’ve already heard or read them before. So if one’s actually blissed – Both might work really well – On similar lines if you’ve read Dave Barry, Or Seinfeld through Chicken Soup moments, Delhi-6 falls flat on Originality way too many times to ignore. And we’re not even discussing the corny dialogues, characters, and preaching that comes towards the end. Can we have the guys back who made the high-spirited DJ deliver the brilliantly satirical “Ek paav future pe, te ek pav past pe” amongst many others, please?
8) Climax :- What was THAT? It would have looked ridiculously out-of-place even in a David Dhawan-Govinda pot-boiler! Honestly, I could almost visualize the 2 communities re-grouping to pray for our ‘hero’ once the ECG goes flat, but then we got to witness the climax-of-the-decade anyway!
9) Concept and Metaphors :- This was the key – the make-or-break aspect in my opinion – And hence as much as it worked to excite me at conceptual level, It went a step further to disappoint me at execution level. To put it by definition I’d quote the most gifted scriptwriter of our times Charlie Kaufman – A thematic movie based on extended dynamic metaphors achieves its purpose the moment it discovers an absolute between metonym and synecdoche metaphor – It took me some time and merriam-webster to grasp what it means, but roughly its something like evolving dead metaphors. As one clearly gets to witness in RDB, Okie Okie, I’ll name different-similar movies – Sam Mende’s ‘American Beauty’ or Wachowski Brother’s ‘The Matrix’ accomplished the same, the metaphors get to live and merge marvelously in all. But here ROM’s craft and labour stops at creating some barbed standing reaffirmative metaphors. So we have the ‘Kala Bandar’ jumping from Backyards to Bedrooms to Balconys to Driver’s seat – And then we have Ramleela sequences which serves as implicit metaphor but used like another classic medium – It does have messaging potential precisely because multiple characters interact with it, juxtaposed against different ideas. We appreciate as it leaves us yearning for something to happen. Metaphors do have an elasticity that allows to add a layer of signifying pictures – be it finding meeting point good-evil, the soul-reflected in the mirror, the Sufism ideologies – to the proceeding that is closest in analogy to laying a track, But is that all this ‘inner journey’ is about? Later the way this film suddenly looks at the moral dilemmas of its characters worked around the well planted motif – by simplifying it absurdly, with all it’s energy spent on the foreplay, the revelations leave a bad taste, Or lets just say the way it answers it own questions, metamorphical-real-personal all, its difficult not to feel the movie looks down at its audience and consequently the same metaphors now look silly. Also I don’t think Delhi-6 really accomplished what ROM aspired for – How many of the audience came out over-whelmed? How many hardliner fundamentalists it turned secular? Save us who are just nit-picking, how many actually felt the message? – I know movies aren’t really meant to change the society, but – with the dozens of messages he’s so vigorously crammed in here – I don’t think we should even argue over what his primary ambition was. And then ask – Does it serve the purpose? Question – So what exactly is your problem? the execution, the ambition or the effect? Answer – Well, In my inconsequential opinion, I feel Mr. Mehra bit more than he could chew. Delhi-6 attempts at keeping a finger on every pie and that’s precisely the reason it ends up being a part social-commentary, part inner-journey, part conflict-derivative, part metaphor-panorama, part message-mongering, part commercial-entertainment, But on the whole it lets me down big-time. I say this with no pride that Mr. Mehra has disappointed me with Delhi-6, But not so much – and I say this with conviction – to stop me from buying 2 shows for his next one as well!
A word for PFC – I’m new here, but was mighty impressed by the way issues were discussed, small movies promoted and opinions respected – untill Delhi-6 happened! Going through some of the Pro vs Anti posts was such a rude shock – I read one side calling the other ‘pseudo-intellectual’ and ‘fanboyish’, And then the other side branding these guys ‘regressive’ who don’t have it in them to ‘understand’ this movie. Now, Does everybody in the world need to have a consensus on everything? Is Delhi-6 David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive interwoven into Antonioni’s L’avventura spinning around magic-realism that one would not ‘understand’ it? I feel its a beautifully conceived, linearly told, message heavy film with simple metaphors which I haven’t met a single soul who did not ‘understand’ Or anybody who did ‘understand’ anything more than the obvious. And about the varied reception and perceptions about the execution – how about a graceful lets-agree-to-disagree?
Just to straighten the perspective, I sent this review to 2 of my closest friends who both loved Delhi-6 – One thought the 5 things which DO work far over-weigh the 9 which DON’T and thus he liked the movie, And the other one declared me being too immature to appreciate such ‘world class cinema’. I found both points extremely valid. If you have anything to add or refute, If you feel I was too lavish with praise early on or overtly critical later on, If you want to share your own interpretation or give me some much-needed editing tips – you could just mail me – there’s nothing as exciting as a cogently argued fresh perspective cause an opinion is an opinion and it could never be wrong….To each his own!
My Verdict :- 2.7 / 5
Tags: Aks, AR Rahman, Delhi 6, Kamlesh Pandey, Rakesh Mehra, Rang De Basanti
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
Sir Ji….
Bahut, Bahut, Bahut, Bahut, Bahut Achcha likha hai…
I second every single thought of yours …
Jitni gehraai se aapne iss film ki baareekiyon ko samjha hai wo kaabil-e-tareef hai …
This post describes exactly what I have felt after wathing the movie …
If u couuld write such a sensitive and ‘Mature’ post then trust me, You have everything what it takes to appreciate ‘world class cinema’ …
haha.. i like the 2.7/5.. its like 2 and a half, and then a little more…
well written though… i loved the film, except the climax… i think thats always been an issue with rakeysh… aks, i particularly didnt like the rdb ending too… but del 6 takes the pie…
must needed editing skills..lol…too much detailing bro
i think u dint like the movie and just tried being diplomatic sometime here…still very good argunent, good points and nicely composed.
can u explain 2.7/5 plz?
I think PFC goes overboard with UTV Products, there is an obvious reason that I do not want to get into.
Why cant we just let go of Delhi6?
There is no mention of Chal Chala Chal in this forum. I thought it was a decent movie if you give it half the chance you give Delhi6. The cinematography was brilliant…seriously guys, check it out. The lead pair(Govinda and I dont know her name) share a chemistry very similar to Bittu and Roshans. The ensemble support cast is brilliant and play their parts perfectly. There is plenty of moral messages.
Can someone explain why Delhi6 gets discussed till its torn to pieces but other movies do not even get a mention?
Brilliant post ….and you are “too immature to appreciate such ‘world class cinema’.”..haha
I agree 200% yaar! Fab analysis, I was surprised u did not post ure review earlier..
There is a dialogue in the film, Angoor, where Sanjeev Kumar told Dipti Naval – “Achcha hai yeh hi to sabse badi baat hai, kyon achcha hai kisliyein achcha hai..chchodo na yaar.” Agar film nahi pasand aai to nahi pasand ayee
Ur absolutely rite!!….It was like watching a documnetry…One of the worst movies in recent times…and abhishek bachcan is really baaad…overall delhi6 is complete let down..
Nice etched out points, though you would have done better to write a separate article dedicated to the Concepts and Metaphors. It needs a more detailed and comprehensive explanation.
Your writing style suggests you are reading a lot of Oscar Wilde thesedays
“First things first, I saw Delhi-6 twice – It was disappointing at first watch, Got slightly worse the second time.”
LOL!!!
will read the whole thing at home.
It was slightly long but most points were well made. I agree to most of the things you said. At the end, the intent was the thing that made it work for me. My concise review here :
http://iyerdeepak.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/movie-reviews/
too preachy. mr. mehra needs to get his act right and im no fan of RDB as well. the movie looked totally plastic and just howled and left the theater as soon as i saw BIGB. enough of this father son endorsement.
too preachy for me.. with so many missing links. and too hyped up as well…
nimesh, u have written a very deep review, but i c’dnt get drawn into the movie deep enough to analyze most of what uve written.
well written man!! the movie was kinda neither here nor there….
chal chala chal isn’t good
Im not able to post my comments…………………………………
I was being sarcastic
@ Avi :- Zarra-nawazi ke liye shukriya!
@ Suyash :- Yeah, Pretty much my thought as well….Thank you!
@ Sahil :- +5-9 -> (5/9)*100 * (5/100) = 2.7 / 5
@ the_other_pov :- Good point sir, and I do understand what you meant….But trust me I’m not on UTV’s payroll (even if I was, they’d have fired me after this article)….Delhi-6 was one of the most anticipated movies of the year for me, and hence the effort…
@ Anand Kadam :- Conveniently, appropriate!….Thank you!
@ Rakesh :- Just felt its been done-to-death already, But then couldn’t stop myself!….Meanwhile, I expected No. 17 too…
@ Manish :- ha ha….Very well said!….But isn’t intuition an instantaneous reasoning by itself? Reasoning again!
@ girish :- I didn’t find it thattt bad, but then opinions are opinionated….Thank you!
@ Ankita :- Was it THAT evident?….Greatest compliment I’ve ever received from you if it was!
@ Neeraja :- hmmm….Many others said they’ll read it over the weekend, all for obvious reasons!
@ Deepak Iyer :- “Slightly”?….You being too kind!….Some editing-tips please…
@ Ram :- Fair enough sir!….We’ll discuss those…
@ Jibin :- Haven’t seen to comment, And thanx for the feedback!
@ reet :- Technical issue, perhaps. Any comments, observation or abuses you could mail me as well…
@ the_other_pov :- And how about this time?! (Jimmy, Goodfellas)
Man., I was a fan of this movie after I watched it the first time. But there are some very strong and well directed observations you bring forward.
You make me think deeper about a lot of what was going on in those 3 hours.
All in all., a brilliant review. Well worth the effort. For me this ones stands out in all the so far reviews posted here.
@ SK :- Very good observation!….And neither writer nor cinema student….Thank you!
@ Afif :- Flattery sure works….Thank you!
To be honest i’m really surprised to see the review of Dehli-6 coz i personally feel this film doesn’t deserve any discussion or debate.The bottom line is this is a crass film. i believe delhi-6 is extremely self-indulgent and self conflicted film … the reason i’m calling it “self conflicted” is coz ,while watching it i felt that ROM wanted to make three films however ended up mixing content of 3 films in one film. the only thing which remained with me long after watching the film was the climax of the film, truly breath taking … u called it ridiculous for me it was the most hilarious part, after watching it one thing is sure that ROM is far away from Elite club of film-makers.i think ROM should take some time off for self introspection before he comes back with his next film.
Well done Nimish, but its a thesis on the movie more than a review
many of the things mentioned i did not notice, so i’ll have to watch it again and then get back to u…till then it will remain 3.5/5
I have been trying to post the link of my review but it doesnt accept dont know why, here is my opinion……..
The problem seems Rakesh Omprakash Mehras hangover of RDB is not yet over…it seems he has taken the social responsibility to bring out a social message to the indian audiance….but hey wake up dear give us a story to corelate. While RDB was beautifully crafted movie D-6 is just the opposite… I personally feel that AKS was a much better movie than this… Atleast Rakesh didnt know how to end the movie AKS. He lost it totally in D-6 at the end
Talking about good the themes has been portayed in the film intelligently…cyrus and his deceitfulness, Om Puri and his stubbornness, Pawan Malhotra and his innocence, Sonam and her feeling of being trapped, Waheeda and her devotion, Beg Uncle and his regretfulness, Vijay raaj and his hardness, Gobar and his childishness,Divya and her practicality,and many more, all had something beautifully revealed about them…. there are some scenes which really are magical…so its like a mixed bag.
hmm So Nimish miya’s Blessings are with the movie haan!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Interesting!! upto some extent I would agree the concept of the movie was good ,the “Kala bander” thing was good,it was a good to see the way “Kala bander” was used to portray various issues in India.it showed how a small thing in India can become a big political blast in India.song’s were just too Good .
but the fact is if u see the movie in Modules(Concept,Music,ScreenPlay etc etc) u would like it.But if u see it as a whole it’s like sluaghtering ur 3 hrs brutally…..
I persionally liked ur review more than the movie :P
@ Aniket Deshmukh :- Quite clearly, you’re still fuming!….But yeah, in my personal ratings too he’ll have to do more to get into that bracket…
@ Kiran :- ha ha….Old and bad habits die hard, you know that!
@ V. Arvind :- Nicely summarized….Anything more you wanna say, and if you’re unable to post your comments – Shoot me a mail…
@ Akhilesh :- Thank you sir!….And point well received…