It’s hard to summarize Delhi-6 (2009) without making
it sound like an early 90s Shahrukh Khan movie; it’s about a young NRI
who travels to India, is charmed by traditional Indian life and the
colorful and eccentric locals, meets a nice girl, and finally wins over
her stern and disapproving father by being beaten to a bloody pulp. The
difference is one of emphasis; Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge focuses on the girl, while Delhi-6 focuses on the country.
New York resident Annapurna Mehra (Waheeda Rehman) is dying, and she wants to end her life in her native Delhi. Her grandson Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) volunteers to take her home. In Delhi, they’re met by family friend Ali Beg (Rishi Kapoor), who takes them back to the old neighborhood.
Annapurna quickly slips back into neighborhood life as if she had never left. Roshan, on the other hand, busies himself by enthusiastically playing tourist, but he can’t help but be drawn to the people around him, and especially to Bittu (Sonam Kapoor), who hopes to compete in the Indian Idol competition as a way of escaping the marriage her father Madan (Om Puri) is arranging for her.
While Roshan is reconecting with his roots, the city is abuzz with rumors of a mysterious black monkey which may also be an alien or part robot, but which is definitely terrorizing the city unless it doesn’t exist. At first, the talk of the Black Monkey is an amusing side note, but as rumors continue to spread, tensions continue to grow. When someone suggests that the Black Monkey is a Hindu plot to discredit the Muslims, or possibly a Muslim plot to attack Hindus, lines are drawn, even in the Mehras’ normally peaceful neighborhood, and suddenly, beautiful, romantic Delhi is a very dangerous place to be.
The plot of Delhi-6 develops gradually. One moment you’re wondering when something is going to happen, the next moment you’re marveling at how much has already happened, but you can’t spend too much time marveling, since the temple tree is on fire, the streets are filled with an angry mob searching for the Black Monkey, and the heroine is eloping with the wrong man.
The plot is almost beside the point, anyway. This isn’t a movie about Roshan’s adventures, it’s a movie about Delhi, a love letter to the city, an extended essay on “What Delhi Means To Me.” Roshan is the audience stand-in here; he spends his time watching, taking pictures, and observing until the girl and city he loves are in danger. Delhi-6 isn’t a throwback to those old Shahrukh movies after all; it’s its own thing.
New York resident Annapurna Mehra (Waheeda Rehman) is dying, and she wants to end her life in her native Delhi. Her grandson Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) volunteers to take her home. In Delhi, they’re met by family friend Ali Beg (Rishi Kapoor), who takes them back to the old neighborhood.
Annapurna quickly slips back into neighborhood life as if she had never left. Roshan, on the other hand, busies himself by enthusiastically playing tourist, but he can’t help but be drawn to the people around him, and especially to Bittu (Sonam Kapoor), who hopes to compete in the Indian Idol competition as a way of escaping the marriage her father Madan (Om Puri) is arranging for her.
While Roshan is reconecting with his roots, the city is abuzz with rumors of a mysterious black monkey which may also be an alien or part robot, but which is definitely terrorizing the city unless it doesn’t exist. At first, the talk of the Black Monkey is an amusing side note, but as rumors continue to spread, tensions continue to grow. When someone suggests that the Black Monkey is a Hindu plot to discredit the Muslims, or possibly a Muslim plot to attack Hindus, lines are drawn, even in the Mehras’ normally peaceful neighborhood, and suddenly, beautiful, romantic Delhi is a very dangerous place to be.
The plot of Delhi-6 develops gradually. One moment you’re wondering when something is going to happen, the next moment you’re marveling at how much has already happened, but you can’t spend too much time marveling, since the temple tree is on fire, the streets are filled with an angry mob searching for the Black Monkey, and the heroine is eloping with the wrong man.
The plot is almost beside the point, anyway. This isn’t a movie about Roshan’s adventures, it’s a movie about Delhi, a love letter to the city, an extended essay on “What Delhi Means To Me.” Roshan is the audience stand-in here; he spends his time watching, taking pictures, and observing until the girl and city he loves are in danger. Delhi-6 isn’t a throwback to those old Shahrukh movies after all; it’s its own thing.
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