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Movie Review

April 2009

Delhi 6

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Music Director: A.R. Rahman

Its shoddy climax and sluggish pace notwithstanding, Delhi 6 is a good watch because of its colourful canvas and the entire gamut of well-etched characters that the director creates, with the bustling Chandni Chowk area of Purani Dilli as the backdrop.

Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan), an American boy of Indian origin, agrees to bring his ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman), a doughty old woman, from New York to India as Dadi wants to spend the last days of her life at her old haveli in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. Once there, she happily picks up the strings of a life she’d unwillingly left behind. Roshan, of course, takes a while to get used to the sights and smells of India. But before he knows it, he is gently sucked into the chaos himself, even as he falls in love with the beautiful Bittu (Sonam Kapoor), who is trying to break free from the shackles of conservatism.

Abhishek Bachchan is in great form, though his accent seems a bit put-on. Sonam has a lovely screen presence and one wishes the director had focused more on her. Can Waheeda Rehman and Rishi Kapoor ever be mediocre? The talented Divya Dutta proves that she’s a highly underrated actress in Bollywood. Cinematography by Binod Pradhan is brilliant; so is the music by AR Rahman. The Masakkali number, sung to perfection by Mohit Chauhan, has a unique old world appeal about it.

Watch Delhi 6 for its intrinsic message—‘We Indians are like that only’—and to experience the melting pot that India is, on celluloid.

Current Top 10 Songs

1. Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire)

2. Masakkali (Delhi 6)

3. Hai Guzarish (Ghajini)

4. Sapnon Se Bhare (Luck By Chance)

5. Haule Haule (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)

6. Marjaani (Billu)

7. Nayan Tarse (Dev.D)

8. Jaane Kyun (Dostana)

9. Mohabbat Aapse (Aa Dekhen Zara)

10. Kab Chand Ban Kar (Lottery)