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 Delhi 6 is a delightful musical run through the Hindu and Muslim
cultures of Old Delhi as seen through the eyes of protagonist Roshan
(Abhishek Bachchan) who comes to India to fulfill the desire of his
terminally ill Daadi (Waheeda Rehman) to spend the last days of her
life in her hometown. As Roshan after a brief culture shock, tries to
understand the complexities of relations that kept his people apart
from each other as well as close to each other, he slowly gets attached
to Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) and the chemistry grows, which is very
convincingly directed using rich background music and believable
day-to-day situations.
The first half, though appearing a little lengthy focuses on
reverse-culture-shock jokes, lavishly reproduced Ram Leela, a visit to
the Taj Mahal, and a cow giving birth in the street. It is in the
 second half that things take a more serious turn. Unwelcome traditions
and smoldering religious hatred comes bubbling to the surface and erupt
into a Do the Right Thing climax that takes everyone by surprise.
Several characters and subplots weaved together to relate to the
central plot of analyzing beliefs against rational thinking, with a
touch of humor is quite entertaining but one has to endure the
laborious and forced accent of Abhishek Bachchan throughout the movie.
Although at several places, the movie seems predictable, Mehra succeeds
in putting surprises well in time and balance. The climax gets dragged
due to cameos and voiceovers. Although Roshan's attempts to put belief
and trust in people ahead of belief in customs and religion deserve a
pat, what disappoints is Mehra getting preachy at many places. Rahman's
soulful music takes the film to a completely different level
altogether.
Mehra and his cameraman Binod Pradhan have succeeded in capturing the
buzz of Delhi city very well in every frame. Those living outside of
India will find that connect with that feeling of wanting to be in both
places. The song in the second half which juxtaposes Abhishek's life in
the US  with the people and life in India is beautifully done as well.
Hat's off to the director and technical team there.
Abhishek has delivered one of his better
performances but his American accent doesn't really work. Sonam Kapoor
doesn't have much to do but except for the climax but she carries
herself immensely well. Waheeda Rehman, Om Puri and Rishi Kapoor are
simply outstanding. The huge ensemble cast comprising of acclaimed
actors such as Raghubir Yadav, Pavan Malhotra, Supriya Pathak Shah,
Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Tanvi Azmi and Atul Kulkarni
do a wonderful job.
Just look at the diversity of topics addressed
convincingly through brilliant performances and slick editing, you will
realize why I say it's worth a watch!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5*
Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri and Waheeda Rehman.
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Sampurn Media
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