Review: ‘Delhi-6’ admirably paints a microcosmic view of Indian middle class

‘Delhi-6’ is a tribute to the colourful, delightful but hotchpotch Indian middle class residing in the narrow criss-cross lanes of old Delhi. Indian middle class comprises the majority of Indian population and the subject has often been addressed in Hindi films. But director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s treatment of the theme is different. The film shows moments of unparalleled originality.

Spicezee Bureau

‘Delhi-6’ is a tribute to the colourful, delightful but hotchpotch Indian middle class residing in the narrow criss-cross lanes of old Delhi. Indian middle class comprises the majority of Indian population and the subject has often been addressed in Hindi films. But director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s treatment of the theme is different. Like his highly-acclaimed film, ‘Rang De Basanti’, this film too shows moments of unparalleled originality.The director weaves nine stories against the panoramic background of Delhi-6. Sometimes there is confusion and turmoil, with the stories overlapping and going out of hand, but the theme manages to hold the film together. Prejudices, superstitions, communal, caste clashes, media’s dumb acts– everything has been beautifully imbibed as the story grows out of the mazy lanes and addresses several social issues. Diverse characters create the nine stories – there is the ‘masakali’ singing middle-class heroine aspiring to be an Indian idol, a photographer with loose morals, a rich-man who has a weakness for women, a no-nonsense father, two mischievous kids, a cheerful jalebi vendor, a typical Sadhu who can make direct connection to God, a helpful loser, a sweet religious grandma, a man remembering lost love, an untouchable but righteous woman, a wise fakir and many other memorable characters. But above all, there is this dreadful unseen presence of the media-hyped Monkey man– who turns out to be a harmless man. Full marks to Abhishek Bachchan for his cool performance, however Sonam Kapoor falters a bit but looks good onscreen. Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Waheeda Rahman and Atul Kulkarni have done a wonderful job. The film is technically flawless and boasts of a commendable work behind the camera by Binod Pradhan. Although Abhishek Bachchan speaks little in his Americanised accent, the dialogues are crisp and go with the mood. The film has beautiful moments picturised thanks to the art direction and the music is the highest point of the movie. Well, AR Rahman clearly is a composer par excellence! The lyrics by Prasoon Joshi are brilliant and editor PS Bharathy does a good job. Although not as great as his previous flick due to the loose plot, irregularity and little confusion, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has again proved his mettle as a filmmaker. Rating: Nothing less than Three Cheers!