Delhi-6

At one point in the movie, the badly injured Abhishek tells his dead grandaddy (he is hallucinating) that he feels at home in the city, where people make mistakes, but at least the mistakes are of their own people.
Right.
Keep in mind, he has been shot lethally (almost) by those same people as he is saying/dreaming/hallucinating this.
Right.

Title: Delhi 6
Year: 2009
Cast: Abhishek Bacchan, Sonam Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Om Puri, Divya Dutta, Prem Chopra, ....... everybody including the proverbial kitchen sink.

It started well. And had great visuals. And was about Delhi- what could go possibly wrong? Despite warnings from a very reliable source, I had to see this. And I found that with every stroke of genius that the movie displays, it also displays significant flaws at every step.

Abhishek lives with his parents (dad: Hindu, mom: Muslim) on the East Coast with his grandma Waheeda. She is diagnosed with cancer, and wants to go back home to Old Delhi (her old zipcode of 11000"6") to die. Since his parents left the city due to tensions from their inter-religious wedding, they don't want to go back, and Abhishek must take grandma home.

Which is all very nice, except Abhishek doesn't sound like any Indian boy who was born and bought up in the US. He sounds like a Indian boy who has spent maybe a dozen years in the US, and speaks accented English, but remarkably clear Hindi and Urdu.

And so they land in Delhi, met by the absolutely adorable Rishi Kapoor (who is looked more adorable than ever, the older he gets). They are escorted to good ol' Chandni Chowk with all the charm as was expected, and though I may sound skeptical, I was truly enthralled. The cameos were perfect! The imagery was great! This was fun!


And then Abhishek settles into Chandni Chowk with grandma- only after one serious setback and blessings from a roadside cow(!), her illness is mysteriously and entirely forgotten for the remainder of the movie.

And he falls in love with the ethereal and gorgeous Sonam Kapoor- only there is no real "aha" moment- we don't really know why they fall in love- because she is pretty? because they are both- there???


And the Ramlila, which somehow goes on for the duration of the movie. It definitely seemed longer than the traditional 9 days which are allocated to the event.

And the director weaves in the alleged humanoid monkey episode that happened a few years ago in the city.

SPOILER ALERT: If you havent seen this, skip to "Highlights" below.

For no reason at all, Abhishek decides he must jump from rooftop to rooftop , crazy fashion mid movie. In classic masala style, this is really a foreshadowing towards the end of the movie, where he actually wears a "monkey-man" suit and does so.

Which makes no sense- he wears the suit to pursue and stop Sonam from leaving town- couldn't he just have spoken with her during the day, wearing a regular outfit? Riots are on in Chandni Chowk, and yet he decides the best way to stop Sonam is by wearing a costume that's sure to get the crowd riled up?
Argh!

So he gets shot real bad, and DOESN'T die, because of "love."
This from the same guy who directed "Rang De Basanti."


Highlights & Downers:
1- In the opening scene when she is diagnosed with cancer, Waheeda calmly cuts a betel nut with a traditional sarauta (beetel nut cutter) which bought me to tears instantly: my own grandma did the same action often every day, and died of the same disease. Its hard to call this a "highlight," but it really pulled me into the story, and made me sit when I wanted to walk away later.
2- The supporting cast and the leads are beyond doubt brilliant- perhaps the best casting in a very long time. And yet, the movie fails them.
3- I have an inexplicable urge to hug Rishi Kapoor- very very very cute. I wish I had an uncle like that. Or Grandpa. ANYBODY. Everyone deserves some Rishi Kapoor in their lives, I've decided. Also some Waheeda.
4- Contrary to what I've heard from other reviews, I don't belekive that this is a homage to Delhi- old/new/any part. Its a fantasy, composed of what the director would LIKE to remember of Delhi (oh that sounds harsh, isn't it?). I almost suspect that he has forgotten what Delhi was like, and would like it believe that this was it- it happens to a lot of folks who move away. Don't get me wrong,I love Delhi, and I love Chandni Chowk, and visit every time I am back there, but its hard to buy into the fantasy of Abhishek believing living in Chandni Chowk's crowds, dirt and smells to be the best thing ever. There is a reason why non-resident Indians, when they move back, DON'T move to Old Delhi- there are better parts of the city. It would be like moving to LA and choosing to live in South Central- why would you do that? OK- rant over.
5- The Ramlila play in the background was surreal-ly lovely, the metaphors were perfect. And yet, it gets messed up when in the end of the movie the director gets super preachy on us. His "Rang De Basanti" has a message to- I get that, I appreciate that- but here it goes on and on forever, and that kills it.
6- Divya Dutta is lovely- that woman has so much talent in her its really amazing.
7- Just not convinced by the Abhishek-Sonam romance- which is pivotal to the movie, but just doesn't come together for me at all.

Conclusion: It isn't bad, but I'd suggest lowering expectations and waiting for the DVD.