Delhi 6 Movie Review

Thousands of people in Chandni Chowk watch with intensity as the Ramayana unfolds on stage when their attention is suddenly jarred by the appearance of a local politician in saffron clothes, who makes a spirited speech and disappears. The sequence, shot by director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in his consistently inventive, funny, entertaining and life-affirming cautionary tale Delhi-6, is highly comical.

But like most of the funny scenes in the film -- including the frantic search for the kala bandar, who is reportedly harassing the citizens of Delhi -- the Ramayana scene is also linked to the darker situations that unfold in the film's last quarter.

Delhi-6, which had its world premiere in New York on Sunday, was greeted well by the audience. Word-of-mouth is crucial in letting the word spread when the film opens on February 20, that it rewards those who are not seeking instant gratification. All the episodes, which may seem isolated in the beginning, are seamlessly brought together in the second half.

Mehra says he wanted to show the film without an intermission but the distributors cautioned him that theatre owners would decide to have a break on their own.

The new film does not offer many complicated stories as those found in Mehra's previous hit, Rang De Basanti, but this film is a worthy follow up to its predecessor. Read More