Movie review "Are" there

It has been a long time since I reviewed anything. However, this is not exactly a review. It is just a collection of some random thoughts that crossed my mind when I was seeing Delhi – 6 today evening.

“Please do not watch Delhi – 6. If you have booked tickets already, try selling them to someone,” was the warning from a friend last night. When I walked in to the movie hall today, these words were still ringing in my head. So, it was with a lot of skepticism that I settled down for the show.

I really do not have much to say about any of the actors’ prowesses. They play their parts quite well; there is nothing phenomenal about their acting though. Nor am I the right person to comment on whether the movie captures the essence of Chandni Chowk, not having visited Delhi even once.

The one thing that the movie has going for it is the creativity that oozes all through it although this does not come out at first instance. For, the story line at the outset is tried and tested. It looks like an attempted Swades where the American born hero comes back to India and finds that “India works!” after all. But, in my opinion, the director deserves much more appreciation than that. He shows how a small thing like the “Kala Bhandar” (remember the monkey man rumors that were doing the round in Delhi a few years back), a hypothetical creature no one is sure of having seen, can make people paranoid enough to riot, burn, shoot and even kill. He brings out how petty instances of everyday life lead to the building up of a rumor eventually culminating in extremity.

My dad used to say, "Symbolic shots are important. Those are what make the movie click." The movie has a lot of symbolism. This is the work of a poet, filled with beautiful similes and metaphors, be them the Ram Leela scenes or the undercurrent dislike between the brothers or the Hindu – Muslim confrontation. All of them come together to present a wholesome feast which actually looks arbit unless one wants to really concentrate and pass a positive verdict on the film. Maybe, that’s where the director fails; he has drowned the movie in subtleties and provided a delight that is not understandable at first go.

Having said that, I do have my reservations against the movie, the biggest of them the climax. The climax is cliched, it has rounds of dialogue which suddenly seem to enlighten people who have been quite oblivious to the obvious so long, it is consumed by histrionics. Somehow, the movie turns commercial in the final stretch. It is a big contrast from the rest of the movie, as if someone else directed the last ten minutes; it spoils the experience.

I guess the last impression makes the lasting impact in a movie. But, I would still discount it for the rest of the movie in this case. The music is brilliant and has perhaps augmented my good opinion of the movie.