Myth - Delhi grows on youReality - So does every city (ask Rachit and Chetna - two hardcore Delhiites who have moved to Mumbai and now swear by the city)
Disclaimer - The above and the following is my personal opinion and no one needs to agree with it. I am open to argument though ;)
In his second full length feature film Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra handpicks 2-3 themes (read ingredients) and makes a chaat of everything. He picks issues that are available easily in India as main ingredients – superstitions, exaggeration and intolerance and of course the spice of communal politics. He places them carefully on a serving dish; throws in a pair of good looking actors in the lead, sprinkles some actors who are known for their acting prowess and garnishes the film with music by the most sought after music director in the country (A R Rehman) and serves in a grand platter called promotional hype. I like chaat, I really like chaat. But this one tasted too sweet…no I think too salty…no tangy...no...forget it…I just know I did not like the taste.
The story began with a lot of promise. Waheeda Rehman as an aging grandmother wanting to die in her hometown was great and she made me want to grow old gracefully. But Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor gets lost in the milieu and a host of characters. Supporting actors (Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Rishi Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Divya Dutta, ) have given such powerful performances that the protagonists grope to find some clear space for themselves. Sonam Kapoor’s wardrobe and jewellery are exquisite. But that's it. The story woven around the 'Kala Bandar' menace in Delhi gets dragged unnecessarily. In the second half, the Hindu-Muslim riot scenes could have been edited better. Clichés such as “Dilli dilwalon ka sahar hai” hangs heavy throughout the movie.
But there are moments that touch you. Especially in the scene, when the hero Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) wakes up one morning in his grandmother’s house in Chandni Chowk and is caught in a reverie - the warmth of the people of India and the plush of New York. He imagines all the people he has come to like in India (oops...Mehra means Delhi I'm sure), to be in New York and voila – now that’s the perfect chaat.
Watch it, if you are a die-hard Abhishek fan and want to learn about Chandni Chowk through a film instead of exploring it on foot.
5 comments:
Cliched is the right word for this movie. I liked the cinematography and characterization, but the direction was not up to the mark. Of course, Rahman takes the cake here too for his perfectly rhythmic tunes!
I think Mehra was on his own trip when making the movie...i didnt have the patience to watch the end of the movie...so did AB actually die in the movie? Utter crap.
@Tuhina - No AB Baby was alive and kicking and that too after going to heaven and having jalebi with his dadaji (BIG B) and getting a sorry from him for his ammi :)
Thank god...i missed that!
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