Ace filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has dismissed the hearsays that his upcoming film starring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor “Delhi-6” is an autobiography.
At the same time, Mehra accepts that the movie is based on his growing up days in Delhi’s Chandini Chowk.
Rakeysh said, “Delhi-6 is not an autobiography at all. I’ve just delved into my childhood memories and my youth in the film. I’ve only used what I observed when I was growing up in the backdrop. It’s more of the colour of that life that has been used in the background than anything else.”
“It’s the story of an Indian origin American boy Roshan Mehra who comes to India to drop his ailing grandmother…like taking a fish back to water. It is the journey of this man and his search for his roots,” he said.
After the immensely successful ‘Rang De Basanti’, which was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category, Delhi 6 is Rakeysh’s third directorial venture.
The star cast of the film, which is slated for a release on the 20th of February, includes Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Om Puri, Gulshan Grover, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Waheeda Rahman, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri, and a dove. Big B will also be seen in a small role.
While discussing the symbolic meaning behind the film’s unusual title, Mehra said, “Delhi-6 (the walled city) is a microcosm of India. It symbolises all the small towns of the country where the heart of a city resides and the walled city of Delhi is an attempt to represent that.”
Though the film revolves around Delhi-6, which is the ‘PIN code’ of that part of the city, what shows up in the movie’s poster is the “Statue of Liberty” in Chandni Chowk.
He explained, “The Statue of Liberty will mean a lot to the people when they watch the movie as it has multiple symbolisms. India today is a melting pot of cultures, religions and castes and now is also finding its place in the global arena. Thus, the Statue of Liberty would signify that and also the land from where this boy (Roshan) comes from.”
Mehra said that while shooting the movie, he had the “time of his life”.
“Every day was an anecdote for us. Basically, we shot with a lot of chaos but with balance and that’s what personifies India. That is the basic energy of the film. We recreated Delhi in Sambhar (Rajasthan) and about 75 percent of the film is shot there, and the rest in Chandni Chowk,” he said.
A big portion of the movie was shot in Rajasthan as the director didn’t want to disturb the people living in ‘Chandni Chowk’.
Mehra directed ‘Rang De Basanti’ in 2006 after his directional debut ‘Aks’ in 2001.
When asked about the lengthy breaks between his projects, he answered, “That’s because of multiple reasons. Cinema is very personal for me. I need time to unwind before I can recharge my batteries. I need time to express myself and that takes a lot of time.”
“I write, produce and direct. While production takes close to Rs.500 million in a film, getting the screenplay and the cast right, pre-production and then to post-produce - it all takes a lot of time.”
Now caught up with promotional work for ‘Delhi 6’ and interviews, Mehra said he has planned to go on a holiday once the film releases.
