Delhi 6 : Absolutely Disappointing

Delhi 6, a release from the UTV Movies and ROM Productions released today the 20th February worldwide. Directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Delhi 6 is a good film but it slightly leans towards being an average watch. Rakesh Omprakash Mehra fails to recreate the magic that RDB created 3 years ago. But again, he continues to point out the hard hitting reality and this time with Delhi 6 goes on to script a movie about the most common social- religious issue told in a very unique and special way.

Delhi 6's protagonist Roshan(Abhishek Bachchan) is an American born Indian residing in the city of New York. He decides on coming to India with his grandmother(Waheeda Rahman)following her bad health who desires to stay in Chandni Chowk of Delhi in her last years of her life. Here is where he meets Bittu(Sonam Kapoor) the daughter of an old family acquaintance who simply is the typical bubbly-traditional chandni chowk gal. Roshan goes on to experience warmth of the people of Chandni Chowk and the whole new culture. He too comes across the whole news saga regarding the "Kaala Bandar" or the "Black Monkey" that has become the talk of the town after the attacks killing people and injuring a few.
Now, the above few events are the only things that take up the whole first half of the movie making it engaging in very few parts.

The movie goes on to show, how the lives of the people in Chandni Chowk are disrupted due to the communal violence following a Sadhu's advice of building a temple in place of a Masjid claiming that a temple existed in the same place as the Masjid years ago. During these events is when, Roshan falls for Bittu. The whole set of events following the violence that leads up to the climax is certainly something that cannot be explained just because of the unnecessary things that's added on to the movie. Just when you feel the movie is getting better with the flowing second half, climax hits you and hits you quite hard. The climax of the movie is something that Rakesh Ompraksh Mehra will be asked and re-asked from the numerous people in the film fraternity about why he chose on such a weak climax which is really dramatic and that is more of a thing,that's hard to digest following climax of RDB.

Rakesh Omprakash Mehra though has chosen an unique way to convey the message to the masses through the whole "Kaala Bandar" thing but again annoys the audience with the too much of "Kaala Bandar" in the first half and the whole "news flash" about it.
Though Abhishek Bachchan occupies most of the screen time does a good job. But the highlight is Sonam Kapoor, and she's delivered sincere honest acting which every viewer is sure to like. Waheeda Rahman too does justice to her character. Om Puri, Vijay Raaz, Pawan Malhotra and Divya Dutta are quite exceptional in the movie providing some humorous scenes in the movie. Atul Kulkarni is the one actor who is certainly not used to his best potential after his flawless performance in RDB.

The music of Delhi 6 is very good.
A.R.Rahman again scores, with an amazing album. "Masakali" being the most liked and hummed one.

Delhi 6 is definitely an average watch after all the expectations from Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. He fails to reach to the level of his own best RDB.

I will go with 7 out of 10 for Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi 6.
Could be your movie for the weekend.

Raghav
Movie Critic,
Writer's Lounge

---

7 comments Posted by Rag at 6:23 AM  |

Billu Barber : Could've been better!!!

Billu Barber, this year's most expected release from the Red Chillies Banner simply turns out to be an ordinary watch. Directed by Priyadarshan, who's known for his Malayalam remakes in Hindi yet again fails to mark the everlasting impression on the audience. Billu Barber definitely looks like a sincere effort to make everyone like the movie. The movie starts off with low pace and just when you feel the movie is catching pace,the curtains are down.

Billu Barber's protagonist Billu(Irfan Khan) is a petty barber from the village called Budbuda who struggles to earn every penny but still somehow manages to make a living supporting his family. He's simple, humble and a character that everyone in Budbuda loves. His destiny changes when, the filmstar Sahir Khan(Shahrukh Khan) lands in Budbuda for the shooting of his film. Billu is then pestered by his children to go meet him,to whom he had once said Sahir Khan was his childhood friend. Things go out of hand when the news of Billu being the childhood friend of Sahir reaches every corner of Budbuda. Billu then refuses to accept the fact that he once knew Sahir, assuming that he wouldn't recognize their childhood friendship now. He's then mocked up by villagers for making such a fool of himself. The things leading upto him meeting Sahir Khan is for you to watch for yourself.

Billu Barber's heart and soul is Irfan Khan. He's quite stupendous in the very first commercial movie that claims to put him as the main lead. His funny, serious and emotional shades are quite perfectly done. He's bang on with his performance as always. The highlight of the movie is the acting of Lara Dutta who plays Billu's wife. This is when you actually come to know, how important the script and the character are in making an actor give his-or-her best. Lara Dutta is extremely good giving her career best in BB. As always,Screenplay and dialogues of Billu Barber are something that's a little carelessly done as compared to the previous release of Red Chillies OSO that scored almost in every department. Shahrukh Khan does his bit of acting convincingly. The actors like Rajpal Yadav and Om Puri are let down with ordinary dialogues, who still try creating humor that goes totally unnoticed. The movie lacks the energy that a typical Shahrukh Khan movie usually tends to generate. The special appearances by Deepika, Kareena and Priyanka is good but lets you forget as continue watching the movie. Though the money is spent lavishly on the sets, the film fails to deliver the expectations of the audience.
The Music of the movie is not appealing either.
Billu Barber scores an mediocre rating in every department.

I will go with 6 out of 10 for Priyadarshan's Billu Barber.

Not a must watch.
But go with no expectations and you might not be disappointed.

---

1 comments Posted by Rag at 1:31 PM  |

Dev D : Something Different

Well, apologies for the late review.




Dev D,is a movie that definitely is not a Devdas. And it certainly does not boast about being in the league of the previous Devdas's may it be Dilip Kumar's or Shah Rukh Khan's. Dev D, is a fresh script and the characters are superbly written. Director Anurag Kashyap, has made a movie with a simple script told in a really complex way with the casting director being absolutely on target with the casting of every charcter. Dev D is no over the moon movie, but it simply justifies the fact that you do not need big stars to make a movie look good.

Dev D's protagonist Devender Singh Aka Dev(Abhay Deol) is a spoilt brat coming from a really well off punjabi family. Dev,arrogant yet so sensible falls in love with his childhood friend Paro Aka Parminder(Mahie Gill). Unseen circumstances lead to Dev losing Paro, who goes on to marry an close family acquaintance leaving Dev to his all time companion "Alcohol". Dev goes on to realize how much he actually loved Paro and gets completely into Alcohol-Drugs and Girls. Now during this phase is when he comes across Chanda(Kalki Koechlin), a prostitue through a local pimp Chunni(Dibyendu Bhattacharya). Dev finds comfort and lot of relief as he continues to spend time with Chanda letting out all that he ever had for Paro, both fall in love. Dev leaves Chanda no sooner his conscious pricks him about Chanda being a Sex Worker. Life again seems to take Dev for a ride as circumstances put him into some serious legal tangle. The things that follow is to watch for, which gives this movie a happy ending.

Dev D, definitely is engaging.. but only in parts. The movie is slow paced which might make the audience restless during certain parts of the movie. Dev D also has the real world touch to it, recreating the DPS MMS Scandal and BMW Road Rage killings in the movie. The man who steals the show with an impeccable performance is Abhay Deol. He is awesome throughout the movie making you cling onto the movie even in the most slowest of scenes.He is definitely showing his worth as an Actor. The performance of Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin is to watch out for. It definitely does not feel like its their first movie. They're too good for their first movie. And as far as the other actors go, they've delivered the goods quite perfectly. Dev D, is movie that shows intimate scenes of the movie differently and boldly. Music of the movie is average,the song "Tauba Tera Jalwa" being the most liked one.

Dev D simply lacks the pace that's needed, making it an average movie at the end of the day. And am quite sure about the fact that the movie will get mixed reviews among different groups of audience apart from the Critic's. Dev D is a movie that not everyone will like after watching it, as its so far from the usual commercial cinema.
I would suggest you to go watch the movie and see for yourself.
But still for people who're in a double mind, this is not a Must Watch.

I will go with 7 out of 10, for Anurag Kashyap's Dev D.
Ans two thumbs up for the freshness and the direction of the movie.

Not a Must Watch, but i suggest you to.

Raghav
Movie Critic
Writer's Lounge

---

0 comments Posted by Rag at 1:27 PM  |