Two Other Journeys with the Journey Within in Delhi 6
iView Author: Nadi. (Pune, India)
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‘ Two Other Journeys with the Journey Within in Delhi 6 ‘
Two ‘other’ characters-
Mamdu-
Like Roshan, he too is both Hindu and Muslim. His compositeness is not the result of mixed parentage like Roshan’s, but is a choice he made himself- Mamdu is a Muslim who worships Bajrangbali.
It is this very choice that makes the ransacking of his shop supposedly by the kala Bandar all the more cruel. Here is a man who voluntarily participates in the belief of the Benevolent monkey God. He is the chosen victim of the superstition of the malevolent face of this very God.
Here is a man who with the two pictures hung side by side in his shop represents the possibility of a composite life, a union of religions in the community. He is the chosen casualty of the religious divide that threatens to split that very community.
Mamdu’s Character Arc is infinitely more interesting than Roshan’s to whom, very often, things seem to happen. Mamdu hits a low point when not only are the tools of his livelihood destroyed, but Heena the goat that he nurtures, that is to him a source of happiness and also in many ways the symbol of his life choices, is taken away from him.
His efforts to retaliate, armed only with a brick in hand against an armed mob are, fortunately for the viewers, thwarted by Roshan; for it would have been a pity if Mamdu got killed by the mob for further transformations are in store.
Terribly hurt, Mamdu becomes susceptible to the dividing atmosphere so rife with feelings of anger, conflagration.
Mamdu, caught like many of us are, in a state of mind which is a strange combination of defenselessness and aggression, fear and hatred, acquires a gun.
He reaches a point in many ways even ‘lower’ than when he was victim; he becomes the perpetrator of exactly the same kind of senseless violence.
And commits irreversible, unforgivable act- takes the life of an innocent man.
(Which as it turns out is not so irreversible after all for the Hero returns after a heavenly conversation with Mr. B himself. Well, that’s another story.. )
Mamdu’s realization is the most visible outcome of the ensuing discourse on the Shadow, our dark side, the Monkey inside us. Free of prejudice, a new stronger Mamdu is even freed of the shackles (the letting go of the handcuffs) of those who shirked from the responsibility of protecting people like Mamdu. He runs to the ambulance. Mamdu rejoins the community in the collective dhakka needed to ‘repair’ the wrong.
Jalebi-
Unlike Bittu, she does not dream of being the Indian idol. She is just an Indian woman, a lower-caste, working class Indian woman.
Direct pigeon metaphors emphasize how Bittu longs to fly free from her loving but oppressive family. Being selected in the TV show will ensure her individual escape to the new India which has access to all the goodies of globalization from this community, a microcosm of the not-so-privileged ‘other’ India. Jalebi locates herself in the community, does the most menial task of garbage collecting, but is financially independent.
Jalebi smokes beedies openly, not for her the changing into ‘what she really wants to wear’ in a public bathroom. The two little boys’ innocent request- Hame mard bana do, and the observation that we are grown up now, and all grown-up men “Jalebi ke paas jaana padta hai”… In a world full of ‘myself so-and-so Bhabhi’ and various forms of address depending on relation to the males in the family, is Jalebi the lone sexual woman?
A fact which is exploited by the policeman who insults her calling her ‘untouchable’. Ironically, that’s all he wants to do –Touch her!
She retaliates, fails; but continues to struggle and negotiate.
While Bittu needs photographer Suresh to accompany her on her flight to Mumbai, Jalebi goes and sits down quietly with a frightened Gobar who is in desperate need of human company.
It is Jalebi who cuts off a piece of her hair and offers it to Gobar as the ‘kaale Bandar ka baal’, Jalebi who first vocalizes that the kaala Bandar is in fact, a ‘part’ of us.
In the offering a piece of her hair and her support to Gobar, Jalebi steers away from the Bollywood usual of the hero ‘saving’ the girl and instead gives strength to a ‘weaker’ man.
This is in contrast to the happy point in the Roshan-Bittu love story – Roshan assuring Bittu that he ‘will never leave her’.
An American Roshan to unfold the story that Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra wanted to tell us, reminiscent of another ‘foreigner’, Sue who came in to tell us Rang De Basanti. A pretty, ‘bubbly’ Bittu.
Characters we have seen before.
Mamdu (a good performance by Deepak Dobriyal) and Jalebi (efficiently played by the versatile Divya Dutta) are characters we have never met before, two well-written characters.
One would like to believe that the writers sensed that there was a story between these two characters. One would like to indulge in a childish notion that it was not a mere coincidence that she is called Jalebi and he makes Jalebis!
There could have been a story; but could a mainstream movie have been made from it?
Is there a role for Jalebi and Mamdu as protagonists ?
Tags: Abhishek Bachchan, Atul Kulkarni, Delhi 6, Depak Bobriyal, Divya Dutta, 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
Mamdu, Jalebi and even the rest could be part of an interesting main stream movie – minus the Roshan-Bittu-Kaala Bandar plot points – there are enough interesting characters within the walled city of Delhi 6 to carry off a movie on their very very able shoulders!
yes, SL.
here’s to discovering them..
the only sore point was abhisheks character which was not well developed
know what you mean Cinosh. that feeling of ‘there could’ve been so much more..’
My biggest problem with Delhi 6 was the second half and how it overkilled the ‘kala bandar’ metaphor. That aside, I found Mamdu too much of a ‘message’ character… you know, the Hindu-Muslim amity prototype. I liked Jalebi but again found the message drilled into her character overdone. I liked her balls, her matter-of-factness but beyond that, it became walking a tight rope… I’ll still not condemn Jalebi but Mamdu didn’t work for me. Did you really feel that you’d never met these characters before? I found them behaving predictably ultimately. I did love the bit when Gobar reveals that he’s actually not so dumb. Yes, between Jalebi and the maker of Jalebis, there could perhaps been a story… maybe you’ll write that one? It should be interesting.
“There could have been a story…”
A story which made more of the fact that she’s a Dalit, and hence an object of fear and hatred to certain people even before the “kala bandar” turned up? A story which made her more explicitly a victim of sectarian violence, and which would have added even more to that line “kaale Bandar ka baal”?
I’m looking forward to the “Deleted Scenes”, to see if the script gave her character more space.
Poor old Mamdu – after all that, do you think he would ever have gone back to his old job? I can’t picture it.
yes, Irene; the writers, the Director, did give us a kindergarten class on Shadow, on metaphor.
and yes, now that you say it, I realise how I thought I had never met such characters, only because the other characters were even more ‘usual’, therefore dull perhaps.
they did,as you say, behave predictably ultimately.
am so glad that you noticed and liked that moment when Gobar says I’ll lose even those two coins…
pretending to be dumb, pretending to accept authoritarianism is for some, part of the Negotiation of it.
I do so hope you are a writer, Turquoise; we could do with stories from people who realise “…..EVEN BEFORE THE KALA BANDAR TURNED UP”
True. In fact the lynching of such an ‘object of fear and hatred’ is one purpose for which these ‘certain’ people would forget even sectarian divisions; as is evident in ‘honor killings’ etc
saw the movie .. and i think that throughout the movie u dont get a clear picture of whts happening .. the audience kinda gets lost feeling ” whts happening ” ..(thts why i gt mixed reviews from my friends ) but the end kinda unfolds the movie ..
personally loved the whole movie .. was scared that it mite nt turn upto the expectations as i didnt want to spoil the Dev D Phobia(Best film for me in last 4-5 years ) ..
dilli 6 – i truly enjoyed the movie .. i loved all the characters ..and especially the portrayal of the “doglapan” of Indian people ..one minute they act as friends .. nd the smallest of smallest issues can lead to a silly riots .. and they start hurting & killing their own people .. and they are lead by politicians who play religion based poltics ..and baba’s and all kinda silly people .. who themselves are losers ..
Worth watching .. just that you feel as if u r decoding the hidden messages .. until the end comes and the message gets clear ..
I too enjoy the ‘decoding’ thing;
being allowed to participate in a work of art by figuring things out, making meaning, so to speak; instead of being spoon fed.
but Pramod, don’t you think that in this film the message did not ‘get clear’, but was spelt out for us?
Haven’t seen the movie yet, but will just for Jalebi. Nice that she is tough, a giver of support rather than a receiver etc..but that is fatiguing sometimes, na?
Nadi,
Really speaking I didn’t understand the movie, and didn’t like it very much. But your portrayal of the characters (especially jalebi’s) gave a clear picture. A good critique.
a breath of fresh air- this being able to say- “I didn’t like it”
thanks for reading, Saroj