I just finished watching the film Delhi 6, and even whilst inching closer to the climactic mish-mash I was contemplating this blog, which some of you would take as a lack of interest in the film, but it wasn't ... but let me go step by step.
First of all, I believe Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and I are on a similar wavelengths since I am more than certain, his stories are dreams he has had, or his ciphered dream scenarios, and I appreciate such an approach to literature. However, the medium this story has been told through isn't quite so much the written word ... but moving images ... and instead of creating cinematic excellence, the famed director of Rang De Basanti has whipped up some kind of unrecognisable pastiche (hodge-podge - just to clarify what I mean).
I, however, happen to like such pastiches.
Dulled by the poor response the film received, I watched it with Zero expectations. From scene one on though, I was very pleasantly surprised. In for a fair amount of humour, I enjoyed the sometimes subtle and sometimes not so much references to the confused, atavistic culture that I've grown up in, the culture of the middle-class of Delhi-6 to Delhi-27 to Delhi - 35 and on and on ...
What I didn't enjoy though was the fact that I sounded like a Hyena because I wasn't laughing continuously. Laughter came in spells ... since it was intertwined with spells of grim reality parturition-ing Karuna Rasa ...
My second very concerning problem was with the music ... also a pastiche ... The Soundtrack mostly by Rahman is really good, keeping up with current trends of the peculiarly new and un-fermented music ... Kudos to that.
The problem begins when the film starts using music from Babel, Chocolat, and Cinema Paradiso (unsure about two and three) ... whichever films the tracks might be from, they are exquisitely recognizable ... and its very unsettling to suddenly hear them, struggling to compliment the rushes of this foreign land.
I fleetingly noticed the reactions prominent 'so-called' critics have had to this film. None of them have the balls to reject the film completely considering they are all still reeling from the intoxication caused by Rang De (not quite worthy of its place in the film world according to me) ... and also, because the film does send out some pretty sweet social messages.
To me however, this film was a dreamy, diet-flavoured experience. It had some moments of extreme likeability and some others that were almost ... repulsive.
If there is one thing that I would remember always about the film ... it would be, its new-found map of the world. A love stricken protagonist wakes up or arises from some somnambulist-ic state to find his two world merging together. He sees his familiar 'Lady Liberty' joining him in the Delhi-6 landscape he is still discovering. In the following song the idea continues with his two worlds merging and his life becoming a yummy sundae with new york in chandni chowk or chandni chowk in new york ... they even rhyme, don't they.
Agreed, the graphic visualization isn't very tasteful. Considering they were bouncing between Amreeca & Indeea, one could have made the concious choice of presenting a refined dream scenario ...
But may be, ROM had a reason for the choices he made ...
However, I don't think there can be any excuse for the split second angry monkey face ... and certain other tiny things.
And of course, the ending. *sigh* ... I think it was the ending of the film that made me forget about all its niceties ... just like Rang De
My best to Rakeysh Mehra ...
