One of those strange rites of passage that my father deemed mandatory for me was to live in a city, foreign to me - alone and unprotected, with limited resources and with only my cunning and resourcefulness for a week or more - and come back from that unimaginable torture all alive, unharmed and unhinged - I do not why and how but this vain torture was supposed to and could make a man out of me .... and so despite protestations in vain from many and my own stony silence that was imbued and pregnant with consternation, resignation and anger, on one bright day of May, did I begin my 14 day exile in Delhi, using the old and trusted Indian Railways` Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Express to carry me to my doom.
Often, thereafter have I wondered why Delhi was selected for my exile and often have I felt that what else could have been chosen? For a proud Bombay guy, disdainful of all that's snooty and over-reaching, Delhi was the perfect place for exile - and to add to it, to the business-minded logic of a brat born, brought up and bred in Bombay, Aristocratic Delhi was bound to be different.....
So what is Delhi? It is a city that lives in the self-induced hallucinatory mode of self-importance and pride; a city that sees itself through the eyes of the Mongols and the Mughals, the Marathas and the Mauryans and still lives there, in the forts of Siri and Lal Qila, in the corners of Sisganj and Dhaula Kuan, in the bylanes of Chandni Chowk and Ballimaran, walling itself from the present and shunning anything that suggests anything to the contrary..... Delhi is still Indraprastha and still the land where the Tomars, the Chauhans and the Lodis fought pitched battles, where the Jama Masjid and the Sisganj Gurudwara still tell tales from old centuries.... And then again there is Delhi.... the seat of modern India... the face of a shining and resurgent India... the India Gate still stands up proud and the Lal Qilla still talks to the airplanes flying in from America, Australia, Europe and Africa...
It's the same Delhi, the one that was written up so many times and consigned to the dustbins of history so many times that still is curiously enough the seat of power of a modern and resurgent India and strangely enough, neither facet of Delhi is either shizophrenic or away from the other and still despite being present in the same vicinity, neither is close to the other - Somehow, both the Delhi of the Mughals and the Delhi of the Moderns lives cheek and jowl with each other, comfortably snuggled at times and deftly defiant at others .... and this is where the young boy of 19 came that day - to an area popularly known as Delhi - 6
When I saw Delhi -6, the other day, I was mesmerised and stunned at the same time - is it possible? I do not know but I was - mesmerised to see my past experiences in front of me and stunned to see how a brilliant film-maker could use the most mundane and commonplace of expressions, to make a story worthy of being a classic - I know many would arch their eyebrows and many may take offence at the liberal use of the word, 'classic', but sorry to disappoint all of you - Delhi -6 is a classic!
Why? Well, you won't understand it, if you have not seen or understood the spirit of Delhi -6... One couplet will tell it all, but the question is would someone who has not seen Delhi understand it... I doubt it......
Hum Ne Maana Deccan Mein Hain, Bahut Se Qadr-E-Sukhan;What is it about Delhi - 6 that I love?
Par Kaun Jaaye, Ae Zauque, Yeh Dilli Ki Galiyaan Chhod Kar
Well, I love the fact that after a very long time I can see a movie that's not a movie but poetry on celluoid, a moving image of brilliance and darkness as would warm the cockles of Master Osman from Orphan Pamuk's masterpiece novel - My Name is Red or even make Behzid envious of the richness of the text! Delhi -6 is not a movie, it's a portrait drawn on celluliod; a book written on canvas as big as 70MM and with some of the most detailed and enriched characters that one has seen in Hindi Cinema for a long time..... Each and every character of this Delhi-6 lives life like a beautiful painting drawn on a canvas of white and gold with each and every stroke deep and rich and multi-hued so much so that Delhi appears like a glistening bride, bashful but desirious and of course desirable!
Granted, the story is thin and is so much spread that one could find it glistening in it's own spread out glory, but if you look at it from a perspectival angle you will find that each and every aspect of the story grows on you and gnaws at you till you feel it deep within you - in your flesh and your blood and further deeper in your thoughts and your actions and finally into the burrows of your conscience that is hidden and still illuminated
Abhishek Bachchan as Roshan is as earnest as earnest can be - his looks and his demeanour speak of a guy who is from the States and who is frankly bewildered to be here - there are times when his 'what the hell am I doing with these morons!" makes you smile and also empathise with the man and the actor - In case, Abhishek understands that his brilliance lies in these and similar roles, he will finally be able to build his own sky somewhere here and it will be distinct from his father's or mother's sky.... As Roshan, Abhishek stands tall and confident and his movements and gestures are as beautiful and as sublime as the innocence in his eyes and the glint of mischief in his eyes
Sonam Kapoor is brilliant - in fact the right word would be awesome.... her father, the honourable Anil Kapoor was one of the greatest actors of his generation and I am happy to see that the girl does have his genes in her - he performance is as vivacious as any and represents in a very concise way, the girls who live down Chandni Chowk and stutter with the pride of 'Husn' wrapped around them, all the way from Balliamaran to Siri.... the child-like dreams of a young girl and the desires of a woman all-engaged with her own self are so well described within the girl that one remembers those rose-petalled flowers that arise with a pride as innocent and as beautiful as the one that knows that her beauty is God's gift to Earth. The scene wherein she leavers her house like a typical "Behenji" and transformes herself into a "Bombshell" by the time she reaches the main road, makes one smile.... Do you remember the scene wherein Roshan chatches her in the new Avatar and clicks a snap of her.... it makes one smile... we have all done such naughty things, haven't we?
Waheeda Rehman as usual is impressive.... you want to understand acting, please go and watch this Grandmom and her performance - one of the best performances of this movie is courtesy an artiste we have not seen performng for a long time .... It's sad to think that when we talk of incomparable Hindi Film Actresses, somehow Waheedaji always manages to fall off the rack - is it because of a multitude of much more brilliant performers and performances or it because we fail to appreciate her understated but strong performances, only God will be able to understand... but yes, Waheeda proves her worth and her one statement in this film is more than enough for conniesuers of true art to watch this film again and again and again
"Ab To Yahaan Marne Ka Bhi Mann Nahin Karta"No Drama, No Over-Emphasis.... Just Pure Performance!
Rishi Kapoor as Ali is effervescent to say the least .... he's strong, he's stable, he's brilliant... he is mature, and he is restrained - we have a singular grouse: why did you not give us so many nuggets of your performance, Rishi when you were young? Why did we have to wait so long to unravel the actor that was always hidden within you? Was it not a great injustice to your talent? Wish you could have seen your capabilities and we your potential in those black days of the 80s when watching a movie was a punishment more than anything else!
Om Puri plays the role of a self-opinionated patriach to perfection - everyone of us has seen or experienced such an uncle in our midst and feared him and respected him but .... never loved him! Om ensures that you leave with similar feelings for Om who is genuinely efficient as Madan Gopal. Pawan Malhotra as his estranged and flamboyant younger brother, Jai Gopal is exceptional, although at times he takes to going above board - his performance as one who is self-obsessed and exceptionally narccissistic makes one smile even if his antics are exasperating and silly - the scene where he plays to the gallery with the mirror is exceptional and reminds one of a similar brilliant performance by the great Naseeruddin Shah in Hero Hiralal
Deepak Dobriyal is the next new rising sensation on the Hindi Celluliod. Each and every performance of this young talented performer right from Omkara to Delhi-6 is a viewer's delight, making one fall in love with this incredible powerhouse of talent and I am sure as the times go on, this actor will become recognized as the rightful successor of Om and Naseer. As Mamdu, Deepak delivers another impeccable performance. A scene to remember, when Pawan and his henchmen attack and violate his shop in the name of religion, the silent fury on his face and the incredulous tremors below the surface of his calm exterior, show the menace of his terrorising metamorphosis from a simple man to a rabid communal. Again, in the scene where Om deliberately insults Allah, the way Deepak runs at him can only prove the talent of this young actor - when I saw him running towards Om, I could feel in my blood the fury of the rioter and the hatred of the terrorist
Atul Kulkarni as the simpleton Gobar who attaches a lot of value by the rituals and customs again proves why he is the most sought of actors when it comes to portraying impossibly challenging and difficult assignments - after one watches his deep and deft handling of Gobar, one is surprised to think that was the same actor who portrayed Ram Prasad Bismil in an earlier collobration with the same director.... Today when I think of a complete actor of today's era I think of Atul....
Divya Dutta plays her role with a brilliance and exceptional ease that proves her talent. Why is this actress not getting a chance to prove her worth? Why do other stars who cannot even stand 9 to 10 to her effortless and brilliant performance get better billings and better star vehicles than this brilliant actress who performs her role with a consummate ease and a brilliance that's not only illuminating but also pleasing to the heart, mind and soul.
Vijay Raaz impresses us with a natural performance of a Delhi policeman - each and every aspect of the policeman has been studied and reproduced both faithfully and implicitly. See the haughniess of the actor as well as the easy-handed behaviour, the way he flails his arms and one cannot be stonefaced. He is undoubtedly a man to watch out for.
Aditi Rao is one person I never knew could act so well - her performance as the ever-sacrificing, silently suffering Rama Bua is one that reminds you of similar such people that you have seen in your life - people who were often sacrificed for family and social honour and who ended up sacrificing their desires, their hopes and their aspirations for the desires, hopes and aspirations of the family and the society, killing themselves so that the family and the society could survive
There are others too whom you cannot forget, Rajat Dholakia as the mad man searching and preaching love, Prem Chopra as the old moneylender who treats Delhi-6 as his fiefdom, Cyrus Sahukar who plays his role of the glib, smooth-talking operater with finesse, Supriya Pathak and Sheena Chhadha -the matronly housewives that can be seen in every nook and corner of Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras; K K Raina as the Muslim who sees a Hindu design in everything that happens to a Muslim and Akhilendra Mishra who is fantastic as the rabble-rousing Hindu hellbent on creating disharmony and discord.
As I said, a film that's more than a film - a complete specatacle of that beautiful place called Delhi 6
The Music of Delhi-6 is fantastic to say the least; however although it again brings together the heady combination of A R Rehman and Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, the songs are unable to match the brilliance of their earlier collobration - Rang De Basanti; but again I do not blame the team - RDB was in a diffferent mould altogether; Delhi-6 is in a different mould together. The one song that made me feel a little emotional though was 'Arziyan' - a well-written and well-composed song that explains the movie well... and of course, there is that typical Saas-Bahu ditty ... Genda Phool, which would be loved by all who have seen those kind of families and the easy camaraderie that develops there......
On the direction front, nothing can be faulted; Rakesh has proved why I hold him in great esteem - mundane incidents such as the one wherein the cow is giving birth to a calf in the middle of the street; the Ramlila and the manner in which it has been incorporated into the film; the way the synthesis of NY and Delhi has been achieved in the song ' Dil Gira Dafatan'; the performances that have been extracted from the great acting ensemble that has been attached and the brilliance with which the Monkeyman incident has been well-grafted into the movie speak of a man at the peak of his powers.
The manner in which castiesm and communalism, the feeling of insecurity in the minds of the minority and the feeling of being left high and dry in the minds of the majority, the frustration of being a woman who is diefied like a Goddess and defied like a harlot; the ever-extending and expanding heart of the Delhiwallas and the constrictions that exist within them is so well documented that only a director with the touch of genius could have painted them all on one canvas and still make it look attractive.
And now to Delhi-6.... a place were the battlelines of religion are stretched every now and then; where you can be best of friends today and a Hindu and a Muslim tomorrow; where the world has been divided into spheres that are only named aptly as "US" and "THEM".... and we all belong to either one of these two blocks..... what can be worse than this...... and still what can be more lovable than an area, where people love with abandon and live like this is tomorrow...... Delhi - 110006 is where Modernism has come to India but these age-old distinctions just fail to die down..... and still there is something in the air of that singular Puraani Delhi that makes you feel that all is not lost, nay, all was never lost and will be never lost....
And so, I concur with Zauq as he says:
"Kaun Jaaye Ae Zauque,
Dilli Ki Galliyaan Chhodkar?"
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