Symbol 3 in Delhi 6

Last night we watched Delhi 6. It took almost 2 months for the original print to reach here. It took more than 3 years for Rakesh Om Mehara to make a movie after RDB. First, we fell in love with the songs (that was two months back)  especially ‘Masakali’. Then Dish TV provided free 5 minute preview of the movie in the MOD mode. It was enough to make us impatient and restless until we could get the copy from our favourite CD shop in Lulu. 

The movie can be divided based on the three symbols used. The first one is the mad man with the mirror. He goes around thrusting the mirror on each one’s face. At the end Roshan ( AB)  does the same. Tired of the scorching heat of the communal fire, he asks the both the parties to have a look at themselves.The concept of looking within is hinted at in a vey subtle way. When the mirror is broken by the communally blind mob, the question that creeps into our mind is – What is the use of a mirror to a blind society.

Then we have the much talked about dove – Masakali. The dove became something like the Zoozoo characters in the  Vodafone ad. It represents everything that a white bird is supposed to represent – Purity/Freedom. The beauty of Delhi 6 is that the Ram Prakash Mehara has connected the bird with the character Bittu ( SK). She hates to get tied up like Masakali. She is yearning for an exit from her father played brilliantly by Om Puri. she also represents the new face of India and it is also interesting that she is the pivotal figure around which the lovely Masakali song revolves. The dove is a contrast to the Black/Dark Monkey man.

The third and most powerful symbol in the movie is the monkey man whose antics runs throughout the movie. Media is after the monkey man. Police is after the monkey man.                      BUT

The monkey man remains elusive. Nobody till the end realises that the dark/black monkey is actually living inside the human mind.  The attempts to make the monkey man a Muslim and a Hindu is quite funny.