Friday, 20 February 2009  Delhi 6 (2009)  Tai: Do you think
she's pretty? Cher: No, she's a full-on Monet. Tai: What's a
monet? Cher: It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's OK,
but up close, it's a big old mess. -Clueless (1995)  The
sprawling, humanist Delhi 6 is a bit of a Monet. Sentimental and
impressionistic, it's quite sweet when you step back from it.
But, close up, it's a big old mess. The characters, while vivid,
are rough sketches, and the tone swings wildly around - one
minute, you're laughing, one minute, crying. Oh, the humanity!
Lovely aesthetics though: great poster! But see how busy it is,
too?! American, Indian. Hindu, Muslim. Dove, no dove!  If you
give up trying to follow a coherent narrative, or being able to
predict the emotional cues, it's enjoyable - in particular, its
earnest humanism is endearing. Director Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
has gone to great lengths to show humanity's light and dark in
equal measure. He uses blunt symbolism - the Ramleela festival
runs like a leitmotif t