Talking Talking

The premise of Delhi 6 is not the journey of an ailing grandma back to her roots, nor it is the love story between one Roshan Mehra and one Bittu Sharma. It isn’t about the Hindu-Muslim harmony either. Delhi 6 is actually about the culture that manifests itself in the long and narrow corridors of Old Delhi. It is about the multiplicity of characters that live there — their triumphs and tragedies, and their habit of finding happiness in the minutest details of life.

Abhishek Bachchan plays the NRI Roshan Mehra, who accompanies his cancer-suffering grandmother (Waheeda Rahman) back to Delhi, where she wishes to die a peaceful death. He has never been to India before, and therefore he is amazed by everything he sees over here — the people, the system, the works (obviously!). ‘Circumstances’ (read: the Ramlila) led him to meet Bittu, played by Sonam Kapoor, who is a wannabe Indian Idol living in a family who is sick and old-fashioned. Both of them, as you have already guessed, are desitned to fall in love.… Sigh!

It so happens that Roshan and his grandma’s visit to Delhi coincides with that of Kala Bandar, who is creating havoc all across the city. The film tightly integrates the chain of events as they happen, and ties up the loose ends creatively — using the Ramlila as the metaphor, and ends up telling an unusual tale in an unusual sort of way!

This being Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film, comparisons with Rang De Basanti are bound to crop up — and rightly so. RDB tackled patriotism and disillusioned youth, Delhi 6 tackles communal harmony in times of a crisis. There are many parallels in the two films — the city of Delhi, the multiple varied characters, the youthful story, the fabulous music score, the snappy cinematography — the Rakeysh Mehra style of filmmaking is highly visible.

As the director himself puts it — “Delhi 6 is not a subject oriented film. It is a people oriented film — and that is what makes it difficult.” Every character is etched out brilliantly, and each one has a unique part to play. There are no showpieces, which becomes apparent as the movie chugs along. The outdoor shooting across Chandni Chowk is done brilliantly. In fact, a Chandni Chowk regular won’t feel that he is sitting inside a movie theatre watching a film — he will feel that he is ambling inside those jam-packed lanes!

Even though Delhi 6 sports an ensemble cast, every actor has played his part well. Abhishek Bachchan plays the NRI lad quite convincingly, though his American accent seems artificial. Sonam Kapoor tries to be oh-so-cute, with a fair degree of success. Rishi Kapoor as the effervescent Ali Uncle is very nice, and Divya Dutta as the untouchable Jalebi really stands out. Cyrus Sahukar the photographer disappoints, but Vijay Raaz the policeman more than makes up for that. And then there are Prem Chopra and Om Puri too!

Delhi 6 celebrates the spirit of Delhi. Watch it, if you are a proud Delhiite, or even if you aren’t!