Delhi 6 - Connecting with the divine light within you.
I recently caught Delhi 6 and saw it properly for the first time. I think it is one of the most powerful films ever to be executed in India and is one of those movies which you either get or don’t get (IMO, Mani Ratnam’s, Raavan falls in the same category). Raykesh Mehra definitely deserves laurels for even attempting to direct such a difficult subject. The stereotypical Indian audience didn’t give this movie a second chance and therefore the word of mouth sent around negative waves. People wrote it off as a silly and non-sense comedy.
A lot of effort has sincerely gone into making the script immaculate and right from the beginning to the climax nearly every scene as well as song was thoroughly thought provoking. The film deals with various taboo matters i.e. caste, religious conflicts and portrayal of the Indian woman, but depicts these subjects in a light-hearted and family orientated way. I think the director took this light approach so he could target the mainstream audience. This could’ve easily been an art house movie if certain names weren’t related to this project.
The film commences with the news of a Kala bandhar (black monkey) roaming the streets of Delhi causing havoc and chaos. As a viewer I was thinking what direction is this story going in? After this, the title credits rolled with a stage drama of a Hindu play in the backdrop. Once credits concluded, the movie shifts to USA, where we are introduced to the main character, Roshan, the NRI (Abhishek Bachchan) whose grandma/dadi (Waheeda Rahman) isn’t well and one of her wishes is to visit India before she dies. This is where Roshan steps in and says that he is ready to take his grandma to India. Roshan’s parents belong to different religions (Islam and Hinduism) which is the reason why his parents have ongoing family politics with his relatives in India. Once Roshan and his grandma reach India the rest of the film revolves around Roshan and his encounters.
Upon arrival of Roshan and his grandma in India, we are introduced to various colourful characters that fill the role of the neighbourhood where Roshan’s ancestral property resides: Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) is the daughter of one of Roshan’s neighbours. She represents the new wave of the Indian female, she aspires to be someone famous and therefore enters Indian idol (Mumbai) without the permission of her orthodox dad. Jalebi (Divya Dutta) is a gypsy, who is neglected in society as she belongs to the untouchable caste. Gobar (Atul Kulkarni) is a half-wit, which people use and abuse for their gains. Mamdu (Deepak Dobriyal) is Muslim and owns a store of traditional Indian sweets. There is also a Hindu Tantric priest who indirectly accuses the Muslims for the errors happenings in the area i.e. the arrival of the Kala bandhar. Lastly, there is the ignored Fakir who walks the streets with a mirror trying to show everybody their faces. Although there are other actors present in the movie, the ones mentioned above are the turning point substance of the movie.
There are a number of scenes that deserve a mention: A traffic hurdle triggered by a ceremony of a cow going into labour. Caught in the midst of this traffic are Roshan, his grandma and other friends/relatives who are going to hospital as grandma’s blood level stoops dramatically. Roshan is astonished when he witnesses his grandma has been healed after coming into contact with the cow. Other important scenes include, Bittu rejecting a marital proposal, an ill-mannered policeman cursing Jalebi, Hindu Tantric priest performing a ceremony to find the cause behind the Kala bandhar and Gobar being set the task of finding the Kala bandhar’s hair for the priest.
A diverse set of messages can be learnt from this movie. The one I found to be the most enlightening was, there is no point in waiting for a messiah or a prophet to come to restore harmony in this world because if we look deep in to ourselves, it is already lurking somewhere inside us. In addition to this my personal belief is there is no need in worrying about the Anti-Christ, Illuminati, NWO, etc. This message is wonderfully and poetically displayed by Prasoon Joshi in the verses of Noor. This message has also been delivered in Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror, where there is a verse citing, “If you wana make the world a better place then look at yourself in the mirror and make the change.” Recently this message was put forth by A.R. Rahman in Maaralante from Puli.
The music of this film is as vital as the characters as it carries the narration forward. A.R. Rahman and Prasoon Joshi equally don the title of a captaining the music department. The album kicks off with Masakali (Dove), a song which represents individualism, freedom and independence. The deeper meaning of this song implies that people often end up becoming clones of one another because of strict rules and peer pressure. The song begins with an ecstatic hum by Mohit Chauhan and the line which remains lingering after the song finishes is, “Uddiyo uddiyo... naa dariyo”, which translates to, fly freely without being scared. This line appears before the beats pace up creating a carefree carnival atmosphere. Upon release this song became the anthem of the nation which it rightly was and it is still in the charts. ARR provides a Latin feel to the track with a signature accordion. Next to come is the title song, starting with distorted/electric bass and guitar chords. The fresh arrangement and the French lyrics illustrate that the capital Delhi is a harmonious city where everyone from all races and places live with friendship. The song, Genda Phool is a traditional folk song which merges with groovy beats and a pulsating bass. In the film it shows Roshan adjusting to the Indian culture. Where the folk aspect represents tradition, the groovy beats represent the urban culture and the song shows the marriage of two ways of life. Dil gira comes when Roshan opens up about his affection and respect for Bittu. It is the best picturised song of the film and by far one of the best picturised songs from the Indian Film Industry. See it for yourself here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9snY21B_tQ. It is Roshan’s dream where New York comes to Delhi or vice versa. The Celtic and oriental interludes uplift this song with a surreal presence. Chinmayi’s verse, “Kyon gunj rahi hai dhadkan... Kushbuyon mein lipata mausam.” is an innovative line which in English converts to, why is my heartbeat echoing throughout the universe? All seasons can be experienced from your fragrance. Next is ARRs Rehna tu, an experimental song which says, you should stay as you are. It is another love song like Dil gira. The extended fingerboard continnum postlude is divine to say the least. Here is an instrumental version of the song produced by the late and dearly respected Aakash Shah, please do hear with your eyes closed - http://soundcloud.com/wiredbeats/reh...hed-version-of. Ustaad Bade Ghulam Khan’s Bhor bhaye (Raag Gujri thodi) is sampled for the next track which shares the same name. A.R. Rahman gives Shreya Ghosal’s voice an old vinyl tint so that it blends in with the sample. Bittu’s dances to this song in her audition for the Indian idol competition. Hey Kala bandhar starts with a Middle Eastern lead before a Rock and Rap mood is set. The police sirens iterate crimes caused by the Kala bandhar. In the climax of the film we become aware that the Kala bandhar is a conspiracy and a simple message is conveyed by Roshan highlighting us humans must defeat the Kala bandhar i.e. the bad behaviour within us, before we find faults in others. The Kala bandhar can be related to the Devil who was the first racist in the world opposing God. He is always out to misguide uss and cause division amongst people. This brings me to Arziyan and the Aarti. While the former is Qawwali with an Islamic base the later is a Hindu devotional song. The inspiring acoustic guitar plucks and harmonium notes in Arziyan give strength to this already emotional song. Both songs pay respect to the corresponding religions but in my opinion religion is a synonym is for division, it has divided people as well as God. Religion might be the root of evil but God certainly isn’t and shouldn’t be divided or be bracketed like a dove (Relate to Maskali) into a cage i.e. Religion.
Coming back to Amitabh Bachchan’s Noor, I would like to share the translation of Prasoon Joshi’s poem - In every spec there is His/Her light, look within yourself, he/she is not far from you, if you love (the word used here could also be translated to, ardour, obsession) him/her then love everyone else, this prayers rule is this, in this, and in that it is He/She, my friend is omnipotent (in the essence of everything). It is a very nice though that says that god is inside us, inside every one of us therefore we should never really discriminate anyone, or hurt anyone - as nothing is hidden from god.
In a nutshell, while India is prospering, the majority of the population are still in a time warp where superstition and tradition dictate people’s lives. The corrupt police man and priest depict that people with authority are the real fools while the neglected simpletons like Gobar, Jalebi and the Fakir are underestimated for their wisdom.
It’s a shame this film didn’t get the acceptance it deserved but thankfully the music saw the better side of things.
Here is R.D. Burman’s song from the burning train that pays tribute the spirit of humanity -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvjORuq8U8Y
