Delhi-6 - Movie Review

Published: October 26, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rahman, Om Puri, Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Prem Chopra, Atul Kulkarni, Deepak Dobriyal, Cyrus Sahukar

India is an exotic foreign land to Roshan, a New Yorker of Indian origin (played by Abhishek Bachchan), who brings his dying grandmother, Annapurna (Waheeda Rahman), back to her hometown of Delhi. Filled with gorgeous urban footage, the film captures the wonder of seeing India for the first time, through an American’s eyes, and the initial shock of amazement that any American who’s ever been there will never forget. Roshan is thoroughly enchanted by all of it—the crumbling family abode in Chandni Chowk (one of the oldest parts of Delhi), its narrow lanes, its rich traditions, its sense of community. However, he chafes at the social injustices he witnesses, which offend his American sense of equality and fairness, and the ever-present undercurrent of religious conflict, which he himself embodies because of his interfaith parentage, putting him at odds with a place he suddenly can’t live without.

 

But what really connects him to the city—and the audience to the story—are the people he encounters, the feisty neighbors of his grandmother, who’s understandably wistful about the world of her youth. There’s a sweetmaker named Mamdu (Deepak Dobriyal), a simpleton named Gobar (Atul Kulkarni), an untouchable trash collector named Jalebi (Divya Dutta), an old moneylender named Lala (Prem Chopra) and his unfaithful young wife. Roshan meets Ali (Rishi Kapoor), the childhood friend of his father and, he discovers, the rejected suitor of his mother. He gets involved in the trials and tribulations of two brothers, Madangopal (Om Puri) and Jaigopal (Pavan Malhotra), and he’s taken with Madangopal's daughter, Bittu (Sonam Kapoor). Madangopal is trying to arrange Bittu’s marriage to a man of his choosing, but after she threatens to kill herself rather than submit to her father’s wishes, Roshan stands up to Madangopal on her behalf. Bittu makes plans to run away to Mumbai with Suresh (Cyrus Sahukar), a photographer who—unbeknownst to Bittu—is having an affair with the moneylender’s wife. Bittu’s secret dream is to be a contestant on the reality show Indian Idol, and she believes Suresh can help make it come true.

 

What starts out as an intoxicating plunge into the soul of a complicated city is ruined by a bizarre subplot about a black monkey that’s terrorizing the city—a symbol of the religious discord that’s always abound in Delhi—which overtakes the main story and culminates in a ludicrous climax.

Delhi-6 is rated Skip.

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