My Delhi-6 Viewing Experience
iView Author: Saad (Madison, WI, USA)
Email: withheld
“My Delhi-6 Viewing Experience”
T.S. Eliot said in his 1964 graduate dissertation, “The life of a soul does not consist in the contemplation of one consistent world, but in the painful task of unifying (to a greater or lesser extent) jarring and incompatible ones.” And with that quote I would like to recount my Delhi-6 viewing experience, and encourage those who have not seen it, to atleast give it a chance.
The obvious anticipation of Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s follow up film to Rang De Basanti, was immediately lessened after reading the initial reviews. Most of them complained of a plotless mish-mash, a lack of beginning/ending, and a lack of subtlety. So I expected that I would be utterly disappointed with the film, and my family would blame me for dragging them to the first day show. I expected it would be boring, preachy, lengthy, pointless, ridiculous, with no character development, no insight, and everything else the reviews said.
My fears were reinforced with the opening scene, with Waheeda Rehman doing a very dramatic “I’m going to die in India or my spirit will haunt you” bit. I thought, “Oh no, they were right, this is going to be torture.” When Abhishek volunteered to take his Dadi to India, I thought, “Why? Why would an American Born Confused Desi up and go to India for his grandmother, most American kids would not give a thought to the wishes of their nutty grandma.” Reflecting on that moment, I realize that the people saying that there was no insight into Roshan missed something. His willingness to go to a foreign land for the sake of his grandmother was an important facet of his character. His love for her opened him to the love for his roots. That is what made his later willingness to stay believable, regardless of his previous life story.
On Roshan Mehra
Being an NRI myself, the following moments formed what I felt were the crux of the atleast the character of Roshan. The first moment was when he saw the photograph of Beg Uncle and his own dad. He had already been introduced to his neighbors and family members, so a sense of connection was already there. But it was when he saw the photograph that he realized, this is where my father lived, this is where my father grew up, this was his best friend. And with that realization came questions, what was my father like?, what stories does he remember?, who were his friends?. These questions helped Roshan realize that although he had lived his entire life in the USA, his parents did not, and thus his story was not complete without their life story.
The next moment which I felt attracted Roshan to India was obviously when his Dadi was hospitalized. I do believe in the voiceover, he said, “I can’t understand who is a friend and who is a stranger. Here, everyone is a friend.” That was a major moment because, living in the USA, he probably did not find that type of affection. Of all the various superficial things he thought were “Cool!” about India, this was something that was very profound. The next moment that I felt was important to him was his conversation with Beg Uncle. It was when Beg Uncle revealed that he loved Roshan’s mother, and said, “Your father gave all his love to your mother. And that love can be seen in your eyes, but … you are leaving anyway, so what does it matter?”. Roshan was silent after that moment. I believe that is when the idea of staying in India first formed. He understood what Beg Uncle meant. Roshan, being American raised, still fit in India. He was still intimately connected with the peopl
e that his parents had left behind, and he would have to leave that intimacy when returning home. The final moment I would mention is the song “Dil Gira Dafatan”, picturized in a surreal New York-Delhi combination. The dream was more than about Bittu, but his understanding that upon going back “home”, he would be searching desperately for what he found in India. He would never be able to let go of India, picturized in him seeing rickshaws and autos on the streets of New York. For everyone who said they could not see Roshan’s motivation for staying, I feel that these subtle cues indicated a profound change in the way Roshan viewed his own life.
On the Monkey Man
Many people expressed surprise in the ridiculousness of the Kaala Bandar, and I admit it takes a leap of faith to accept what happens in the climax. However, from the very beginning (at Indira Gandhi International), the Kaala Bandar is introduced. It is established very early on as something that is causing unrest in the community. So it wasn’t all that surprising when the Kaala Bandar became a source of enormous tension later on, causing so much paranoia. For those saying that it was so unbelievable, please check out the links at the end of the post, and remember that crazy things happens! Although I don’t recall the real monkey man incident, I wasn’t really disgusted by it in the movie. It seemed that the others watching also understood, it was just a way to tell the story, and a very unique one at that.
On Boredom & Subtlety
Many people said that the film was boring, and judging from the audience reaction in the theatre, that was not the case. The film was actually very witty, and people were continuously laughing throughout most of the film. Some scenes in which I am still laughing about days later are: When the actors playing Hanuman and his army in the Ramleela show are lined up, and the cop says, “Kisi ki pooch bajh rahi hai”. When the kids go to Divya’s character Jalebi and say..”Humein mard banao!”. When someone is interviewed on tv saying, “Maine kaala bandar ko dekha hai, woh invisible hai.” These were just three little gems of hilariousness, and there were many more. As said, the audience was laughing continuously throughout the film.
An interesting idea that we are discussing in literature class is that of “the juxtaposition of the profound and the banal”. While many people commented that the film was a “hodge-podge, a mess”, I think a different viewing results in a very different perception of the film. As the opening quote said, it is a “painful task unifying jarring and incompatible worlds”. There were many characters in the film, all with a little something revealed about them. In this sense, I felt that the characters in Delhi-6 were immensely true to life. How often do you know every detail about someone? Most of the time we don’t know as much as we think we know about anyone! It is interesting that people expected intricate detail into the stories of each character. However, I think that is missing the point! The people all had stories, tidbits revealed, but still weaved together in the fabric of the community, related to Roshan, and part of the main character, the city itself. The subtlety in whi
ch the characters are revealed is beautiful! The photographer and his deceitfulness, Om Puri and his stubbornness, Pawan Malhotra and his innocence, Bittu and her feeling of being trapped, Waheeda and her devotion, Beg Uncle (Rishi Kapoor) and his regretfulness, the cop and his hardness, Gobar and his childishness, Divya and her practicality, and many more, all had something beautifully revealed about them. From these tidbits, we can get a sense of what their lives have been like, but as in real life, there is alot we don’t know (and never will!).
The most interesting thing however, is the way bits of profound insight into the character’s lives are deliberately juxtaposed with comic, “banal”, even “pointless” scenes. For this reason, maybe many people felt it was hodge-podge. However it should be noted that this is a very interesting technique, done in literary work, and brilliantly done in Delhi-6. Just as in the world around us, often trivial things follow big moments, and big moments quickly fade into trivial things once again. A brilliant example of this would be the “Tumre Bhavan Mein” battle between the brothers, or the radio finally working in the midst of the riot.
Please see “A Collection of Thoughts About Delhi-6″ by Amanda Sodhi for a better list of various comic, and subtle moments in the film.
On The Climax
Many people expressed the view that the riots were so immediate, the climax so rushed, that it was absurd compared to the slowness of the previous parts. I agree that it did seem so rushed, but I think it could have been deliberate, and not just for the sake of playing time. The precursor to the events had been in place from the very beginning (the airport scene), and reinforced throught (as the news interviews kept showing), and then, as is the case with many spontaneous activities, things can spiral out of control before one has the time to think. In that sense, the film’s pace itself was a reflection of the fickle nature of groups of human beings, and what they are capable of doing in a short period of time. I think it was rushed because when people are afraid, they do rush, and they do irrational things before thinking about the consequences. If that is the reality, I didn’t find the fact that the pace of the film was a reflection of this irritating.
I did feel that the climax was the weakest point of the film, and didn’t see the need for Amitabh either. There was alot of “preachiness”, but it wasn’t (to me) terribly off putting. As I believe someone else said, sometimes you have to raise your voice for people to hear you. (Although they may not be receptive to what you say). Maybe the “message” could have been quieter, but then people still might say, “What was the point?”. As Rangan mentioned in his review, this is one film where the insufficiency of the climax does not ruin the film.
Final Thoughts
The film that I saw had many themes, some preached loudly, some quite subtle, and the balance worked for me. I did not see it as a mish-mash, but as a collage, trying to put together many layers together, and ultimately succeeding. It went from very slow, observant, subtle, to quick and chaotic, then just as quickly back to slow and reflective. The main character was the soul of India, initially (and stereotypically) shown as cows, rickshaws, etc, then revealed as deeply religious, smart, practical, criminal, sometimes irrational, and beautiful. Then these characteristics are put in context based on experience, both in the past and present day India. And the message of the film is shown, in that, people lives in India, no matter how complex, are rooted in such a love (for various things), that may very well be, (as understood by Roshan), not found anywhere else in the world!
Although I expected an Rang De Basanti type of movie, this was completely different. It was not a go-take-action movie, but rather a stop-notice-think type of movie. Even though I had expected to dislike the film based on the reviews, I ended up loving it. It was flawed, but what the heck is perfect? If you are debating whether to see the film, I suggest that you do! My family, in fact didn’t blame me for dragging them to the first day show, but want to see the film again.
NY Times Article on The Monkey Man – 2001
Amanda Sodhi’s Thoughts on Delhi-6
Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, Atul Kulkarni, Delhi 6, Divya Dutta, Om Puri, Pem Chopra, Rakeysh Mehra, Rang De Basanti, Rishi Kapoor
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
this is the exact feeling i share about the movie.the greater picture is good.
I havent watched the movie it..missed the first day because of unavaidable circumstances..But after reading this, am sure this is one movie which I shouldn’t dare miss
Wow – great way of putting things down. Kya mast jagah hai PFC !! khudke vichaar kabhi kabhi bin kahe aa jaate hain saamne !!
ROM missed this time around. amaturish script, editing etc. waste of time and money.
@ Praveen: let me know how you feel afterwards!
bin kahe aap ne kaise sune?
, I think it was something different, and maybe requires a different way of looking at it.
@ kcp:
@ Ajey: I have no authority to comment on the amateurishness of the script
I already watched it 3 times .. and used to go over some scenes after my office I love it ..To me it is a great film.. shows true Indian soul.. I have read some reviews ridiculing the film ..and thought whats wrong with them what could be the reason some people didnt like rather slammed it badly .. I would say the film actually hurts to them at personal front , Look some people dont want to see themself in mirror .. and slam the perrson who is trying to show them .. I am just in confusion are they Ugly…
@Shubham..I think it was a very detailed film and had alot of things to notice..It seems alot of people were put off by the “preaching” although there was truth in the preaching. Most people dont like blaming themselves for anything
. It was a bold film for sure!