Delhi 6 
Release Date : 20 February 2009
Genre : Drama, Romance
Run Time : 2 hours 18 minutes
Banner : UTV Motion Pictures
Presenter : UTV Motion Pictures, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures
Producer : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ronnie Screwvala
Director : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Cast : Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Atul Kulkarni, Supriya Pathak, Divya Dutta, Prem Chopra, Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Tanvi Azmi, Vijay Raaz, Deepak Dobriyal, K. K. Raina, Akhilendra Mishra, Sheeba Chadha, Cyrus Shahukar , Aditi Rao, Indrajit Sarkar, Daya Shankar Pandey, Geeta Agarwal, Rajiv Mathur, Geeta Bisht
Music Director : A. R. Rahman
Why Delhi 6?
If someone is still wondering whats with the "6" in Delhi 6, well the main protagonist, Junior Bacchan returns to Delhi from US to a locality whose pincode is 110006. Thats why we have Delhi - 6
Synopsis
The story is told against the backdrop of the ancient walled city of Delhi. A microcosm of India, the city represents the chaos of our land, its people, their religion and their beliefs. Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) travels back to India with his ailing grandmother from the USA. Having led a very western lifestyle in America, Roshan is not familair with the sites and smells, the food and culture, the religion and beliefs, this huge melting pot that India is. Amidst all this he meets the beautiful Bittu, who is looking for identity and expression and wants to break free from the the typical, Indian social structure. Little does he know that this quick trip of his will turn into the longest journey of his life….a journey within. The pin code of this old city is – 110006. With pride and love they call it Delhi-6.
Story
Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan), the archetype for the NRI babalog, arrives in Delhi-6 on a short trip to leave his ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) home. Now Dadi, a doughty old woman, doesn't want to die in the distant shores of New York and forces her son to send her back to her old, moth-balled haveli in Chandni Chowk. The son hates India, a communal cauldron which forced him to flee with his Muslim wife, so grandson agrees. After all, it's just a short trip, with a bit of sight-seeing thrown in, he tells himself. But hey, hasn't he heard about roots and the theory of relativity (read umpteen overzealous relatives)!
Dadi shakes off the cobwebs, swoons over a banarsi paan, snuggles up to all her biradari and bustee wallahs (friends and relatives) and picks up the strings of a life she'd never wanted to give up. Roshan however begins on a predictable yuppie-yankee note and smiles indulgently at the teeming chaos: the cows in the street, the kitschy Ramleela shows, the kite and pigeon flying soirees on the terraces, the polo session with Uncle Beg (Rishi Kapoor) and the jalebi sessions with the boys next door. And before he knows, he's gently sucked into the chaos himself. Specially when he can't understand why firebrand Imarti (Divya Dutta) is an untouchable; why the unfriendly neighbourhood cop (Vijay Raaz) has a Hitler fetish; why his uncles (Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra) have built a wall in their house, while their wives gossip relentlessly through a loose brick. Or else, why the beautiful Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) chooses to have her wings clipped, like the white dove, Masakali, when she too can fly and fulfil her dreams.
And if that isn't dramatic enough to hold our boy back to where he belongs, there's the infamous Monkey Man and his escapades that became an urban legend in saddi Dilli, not so long ago. The filmmaker interestingly uses the metaphor of the Monkey Man (Kala Bandar) to symbolise the beast within and blends different vignettes of contemporary India to create a composite picture.
Professional Reviews
Times of India
- 3 Stars
The shoddy climax, replete with a scene from heaven, and the sluggish pace of the film do detract from the delicious flavour of Delhi 6, which, all said and done, is a delectable paapdi-chaat of big, bustling, bulging India. The director creates a whole gallery of mesmeric characters, though one wishes he had focussed a bit more on bubbly Bittu, specially since Sonam has such a pleasant screen presence.
Abhishek Bachchan proves he's in crackling, quicksilver form as the `burger-chaap' Amrikan who tells his bustee wallahs to `get real'. Rahman's Masakali music has already become a chartbuster, even as veterans like Waheeda and Rishi reiterate the truism about old being absolute gold. Watch it for the message of Delhi 6 and the ekdum desi India-feel.
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4 stars A Touch of pure Desi Delhi Brilliance. There is something enchanting about the movie.
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The Indian SlumDog If you thought Slumdog had Indian detail, wait till you see the kaleidoscope that is Delhi-6.
Just a small note. The film has come up with a U/A certificate from censors.