Delhi 6

I finally started living in my new (rented) apartment in Bangalore, with no great movie to look for on TV (not sure if I should blame TataSky for that). The only option was to re-explore my old DVD collection. No rewards for guessing, I picked Delhi 6 – one of my all-time favorite movies (as most of my closest people already know). I loved it so much the first time I watched it, I immediately bought its DVD and happen to have watched it more than once (being modest).

While I’m about to watch it (n+1)th time today, the only question running through my mind is – why would anyone not like Delhi 6? That’s a question for those to answer who can’t appreciate this phenomenal creation. I belong to the proud others, who’re sane enough to understand and digest its perfection.

And so, this article. If you haven’t seen it yet, here are a few reasons why you should:

1. Waheeda Rehman – probably the prettiest actress in Hindi Cinema. The only other name I can think of is Madhubala. Such a charming face and a refreshing character, you can still see that Guide-times aura on her face when she dances. Don’t trust my word blindly, youtube ‘Genda Phool…’ for yourself.
2. Sonam Kapoor, one of the best newcomers to happen to the Hindi Film Industry. One of my friends finds her appearance ‘raw’ in this movie, but I feel it’s the plus point. One other friend used a not-so-good word for her acting in this movie; I say she was closest to perfection. You can consider watching ‘I Hate Luv Stories’ (and NOT ‘Aisha’ for that matter), and you would know better. I liked Aisha, by the way.
3. Chandni Chawk a.k.a. Dilli Chhe (Old Delhi – PIN Code 110006, India). If you’ve been there, you can’t agree more how this movie is the best portrayal of Old Delhi, the people there, their accent, their typical behavior, and whatnot.
4. The A. R. Rahman Charisma! Musically, this movie is a delight for Rahman lovers. The background score and richly-worded songs add to the storyline. Unlike typical other Hindi movies, Delhi 6’s story continues progressing with the songs, during the songs. The best part is, none of the songs takes more than a minute at any point. Only the beginning, or a stanza, and that’s it! Buy an original audio CD from the market, if you want to listen to the full songs.
5. Great homework and a very careful picturization. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has addressed minute details in every scene. Take that growing Tulsi plant in the movie. It’s dried, almost dead when they first enter the Delhi house. With the story, the plant revives one leaf at a time and prospers completely by the end. The same goes for the lighting and sound. Not exaggerating, it’s a technically-perfect movie. After Mani Ratnam, I believe Rakeysh Mehra, is the only person who could make Abhishek Bachchan act.
6. The story of the movie is like a message. It’s realistic, and still with a moral like that in an epic. It’s a rather conversion of the writers’ imagination into the lives of actual – rational characters. They’ve neatly projected the relevance of the message from an epic like Ramayana with culture and day-to-day life today – and still making sure the story doesn’t lose its grip.
7. This symbolic story is knitted with hand-picked characters and the best of the actors. It’s a star-studded film with exclusivity for each. Every character is well justified – be it Ali Baig (Rishi Kapoor), Madan Gopal (Om Puri), Mamdu - the Halwai, Jalebi (Divya Dutta), Kaala Bandar or Masakali (the pigeon). Characters are redundant and still distinct.
8. Rama Bua! How can you not fall in love with Rama Bua? My affection for this character may go out of this article’s scope and etiquette of online writing; simply put, she’s one nice face worth looking forward to.

Ask me for a reason, I gave eight. It’s a good movie. Worth watching. You don’t agree? Tell me what you think.

Director(s): Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra/ Actors: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Om Puri, Waheeda Rahman, Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta