Saturday, February 28, 2009

Monkey Business

I’m in a dilemma after watching Delhi-6.
So if you’ve been a fool like I was; to see this movie in anticipation of all the hype it carried and riding high on AR Rahman’s super album, maybe you can help me out!
What exactly is the movie about?
a) Roshan – Bittu’s love story
b) Roshan’s discovery of a land he had never visited
c) Roshan’s Granny’s longing to be in her beloved motherland
d) The multi-cultural melting pot that Delhi is
e) The India that has not matured
f) The Ramleela being staged
g) The Kaala Bandar

Rakeysh Om Prakash tries to blend all of the above in one and fails miserably at that.
I actually longed for the first ending (The one where Roshan dies, did I just kill the story for you all? I would have if there was any story!) that was planned by the director; it would’ve been the saving grace for a movie that was all over the place.

A good movie is one with a good story and an even better script. Delhi-6 has none; so I cannot even discuss it. All it has is a super-duper mind-blowing music score by AR Rahman to which the director does no justice whatsoever. More than half the album appears in bits and pieces before the intermission. The songs end before they begin! How can one be so criminal to such a masterpiece?

Arziyan is a delightful sequel to Piya Haji Ali from Fiza. It opens with a picturesque view of thousands praying at the Jama Masjid but does not build on it. Genda Phool is the most entertaining track of the album and what could’ve been a winner ends up as a loser! The title track can give the hip-hop artists of the west a run for their money but is ruined with Abhishek simply jogging on the streets and Sonam changing into the idol look. Even the catchy Masakali is not completely picturised. Rakeysh Om Prakash needs to takes lessons from Mani Ratnam and Rajiv Menon to learn to do justice to Rahman’s numbers

Abhishek as the protagonist falls flat. Aishwarya’s influence on him is clearly showing, plastic expressions and non-reactions! Sonam Kapoor looks ravishing but has little to do.
All others are wasted. The director had a bunch of great actors but does no justice to any character. The most upsetting was Atul Kulkarni, what prompted him to take up Gobar’s role?

A few things that defy logic - what was Roshan thinking of when he donned the Kaala Bandar attire when the whole mob was going mad finding the menace wanting to beat it to death. Despite the allegations and hatred he wants to still continue in Chandni Chowk while the love of his life wants to be free of the place.
What kind of family, especially the conservative one shown thinks of marrying the daughter of the house before the young elder aunt? There is no effort to marry off the young aunt – Rama who is beautiful and efficient as a homemaker.
So here is the deal, look for logic and you’ll find none, you keep waiting for the story to begin and it never does, the last preaching scene does not touch you and there was absolutely no need for the scene with Big B.

If you want to know what the movie is about – pay attention to the scene where Abhishek lands at the Indian airport. The movie begins and ends at that – monkey business

After watching the movie, a friend of mine told me that Swades was all about a bulb, and now I feel Delhi-6 is all about a monkey – only a monkey can understand the mess that Delhi-6 is!