Jul 01, 2011 06:10 PM
1981 Views
The first thing to note is that this film willsplit its target audience right down the middle. Yet, I’ll try not to be diplomatic and the present the strengths and weaknesses of the film as they stand and let the viewer decide on the verdict. The biggest obstacle for Delhi Bellyis an appeal to an overall audience. A lot of the dialogues of the film are in English and overall the film has the slick, trimmed down feel as well (with the film running for only 96 minutes). In that sense, Delhi Bellyis probably more suited to the metropolitan youth than the single screen audience of small cities, even though the initial euphoria regarding an Aamir Khan production might challenge such a predicament. Whether or not you end up liking Delhi Bellyalso depends immensely on the age factor. This is by no means a ‘family’ entertainer. Swearing comes aplenty and one may find young teens giggling with excitement every time the ‘F’ word is said as if they have never heard the word before or the mere mention of the word is akin to original sin.
Delhi Bellyis a coming of age film, no, it’s not the coming of age of cinema, but rather the coming of age of the youth of India, who have no shame in swearing unabashedly amongst their friends but are circumspect of their behavior and language in front of others, especially elders. The fact is, the Indian youth doindeed swear after every second sentence, growing up in a boys hostel had taught me that very early on in life. The question remains: does the rest of India have the courage to accept the youth as this ‘swearing’ lot or must the double life – as an unabashed loudmouth amongst friends and as a dutiful son/daughter in front of parents continue? Your acceptance or rather love/hate factor regarding Delhi Bellywill largely hinge on your perspective about this question.
Plot:
This is one film where the plot is very well executed. This was indeed a necessity, given the film’s short runtime. Three room-mates Arun (Vir Das), Nitin (Kunaal Roy Kapoor), and Tashi (Imran Khan), live together in a rundown Delhi apartment. The conditions are unhygienic and unsanitary and just leaving it at that would be an understatement. Each character has their own personal problems to deal with. Vir Das is someone who considers himself an ‘artist’ but he is stuck in an advertising agency. He is dissatisfied and underappreciated in his job and has no option but to narrate his daily ‘sob sagas’ to his room-mates. Kunaal Roy Kapoor is a part time photographer and part time blackmailer, both jobs which do not get him any sufficient amount of money. Imran Khan is a reporter who is about to get married to his fiancée Sonia (Shenaz Tresury) who expects him to give up his ‘stupid’ journalism dream and get a ‘real’ job at her father’s firm after marriage. The cooker explodes when Arun’s girlfriend decides to dump him and he hits rock bottom, Nitin’s indulgence in roadside food gives him a serious case of Delhi Belly (a recurring gag, thus the title) and Tashi finds himself saving his skin from a jealous ex-husband of Menaka (Poorna Jagannathan), a colleague of his whose ex husband is overtly protective and jealous of her. Nitin’s case of Delhi Belly and the consequent mix up between a stool sample and a Russian doll filled with diamonds means that all hell breaks loose. Now Somyajulu (Vijay Raaz) wants his diamonds back and the crime caper is on its way!
Bhaag Nitin potty aayi hai (Run Nitin, you need to shit)
The film is NOT visually or aesthetically pleasing. Fair warning given. Comedy arises not from one liners but from increasingly absurd situations with which the characters have to deal with, about which they have no idea about. Exaggerated absurdity of situations, the drastic reactions that it draws from each character and the constant swearing is staple food of Delhi Belly.However, this should be taken as a negative aspect. Delhi Bellyis India’s answer to The Hangover(which I found extremely funny) and Bridesmaids.However, a product that is appreciated from a Hollywood machine may not necessarily excite Indian audiences. There is no ‘shock’ value for the Indian audience to find crass material in a Hollywood film, with umpteen teen comedies produced over the years. It remains to be seen how they react when they see one of their own dish out a similar product. For that reason, Delhi Bellyprobably has more international appeal than a parochial one. A definite negative is the excessive focus on stool and feces as it takes away from the sheer pleasure of looking at the cinema screen. There are some sequences where you cannot even look at the screen because of the amount of sht (literally) in front of you. Nitin shts too much throughout the film. As a recurring gag it works but some sequences take it too far and do not appear to have any comic value, rather going for the ‘shock’ value. Too much of ‘shock’ value is Delhi Belly’sdownfall here. The director needed to tone it down a bit and concentrate on getting the film out of a sh*thole (no pun intended).
Cast:
Vir Das was most impressive out of the trio and his comic timing was impeccable. Kunal Roy Kapoor spent too much time on the pot and is wasted whilst moaning and groaning. He doesn’t get to do much but plays his character well. Imran Khan swears a lot and has a wooden expression on his face; however, his dialogue delivery was good. It would be better if he can stop using Botox injections and use his facial muscles to show different expressions. Vijay Raaz once again shows that he is irresistible on screen. Out of the two ladies Poorna Jagannathan has the upper hand, no doubt. Her character is really well etched out and different from the stock narratives. In fact, if Delhi Bellythrives, albeit all the visual unpleasantness, it is because it is NOT a stock narrative.
A special mention about the music. All songs are extremely well interspersed throughout the film and each one was a delight to listen to. I have no particular favourites but the way the songs are used, they highlight either the state the character is in at that particular moment (I hate you/I love you) or help substantiate the narrative.
All in all, Delhi Bellyis by no means a comic gem. However, regardless of some gags gone too far, it has a racy, tight and extremely well executed plot (a rarity in Hindi films these days), well edited, has great songs which justify themselves in the narrative and knows its target audience well. It doesn’t try to please everybody but does go slightly overboard on the ‘shock’ value. Be ready to be shocked even after fair warning, hear plenty of swearing and situational absurdity. It is a potpourri of adult comedy that has the pot as its flagbearer!
