22 February,2009 05:25 PM IST | | Namita Gupta
Movie: Dilli 6 (Hindi)
Direction: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Starcast: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra,
Surpiya Pathak.
Rating: 3/5
Theatres: PVR, Fame, Inox, Fun, Rex, Innovative Multiplex.
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New York-based Roshan (Abhishek) flies with his grand mom (Waheeda) straight into the gullies of her large, extended family and neighbours in Chandni Chowk to fulfill her wish of taking her last breath in her own country. The neighbourhood brothers (Om and Pawan) live with a wall that separates them, as their wives (Supriya and Sheeba) do their chit-chat through a broken brick in the wall and the free-spirited Bittu (Sonam) who is bubbly and full of life and is working towards being the next Indian Idol, encompass the hustle and bustle of his existence in purani Dilli.
The screen presence is highlighted with verve and colour replete with all the chaos of Indian people, crowded old Delhi streets, small lanes, joint rooftops of houses, roadside shops frying jalebis, and people with strong religious beliefs. The moment Roshan starts mingling with the immediate neighbours, their friendly masks are unveiled, revealing their evil side.
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What's hot: Sonam Kapoor puts energy in every role she plays, be it comic scenes or dancing to the Masakali or executing rebellion against her family's plans for arranged marriage. Also, the way Mehra has portrayed the local flavours of Chandni Chowk by lanes is commendable.
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What's not: While the director starts with the right note, somewhere down the line he forgets to move along with the flow and towards the end, it looks like he's struggled hard to lift up the story. He spends too much unwarranted time on stuff like the 'kala bandar', a mysterious black monkey that terrorised Delhi some years ago. Though it's all done with admirable validity, it leaves one yearning for something exciting to happen, only to be let down.
