Delhi Belly, my thought

Here is why, firstly,  I myself generally avoid reading a detailed review of a movie (that too by me, a first timer) till  I have already watched the movie for first, this way I don’t go into a hall with someone else’s opinion on my mind.  Secondly, I have also made direct references to scenes or characters in the movie that you may not be able to relate to unless you have seen the film and yes, also since this is the first time I am writing about a film, so I might unwittingly throw up some spoilers.

Well, now we have the little disclaimer out of the way… Let’s get started.

Delhi Belly can be viewed in two different angle… at one angle, an absolutely mindless comedy filled with slangs, cuss words and dirty jokes thrown in to attract the yuppie crowd. I for one, am not the type of person who would enjoy a movie like this, so I am not going to dwell into that angle too much. Well, I chose to look at it from another angle, I have thoroughly enjoyed it doing so, here is why…

1. The Story-telling Skill
   I loved the sheer edge of the seat story-telling skill of Akshat Verma that keeps you guessing what’s going to happen next,  the cleverly introduced sub-plots, which are  seamlessly interwoven into the movie. How seemingly unrelated events (the annoying kathak practice sessions or Vir Das’s “Delhi Belly”, which by the way were funny on their account) adds a new twists to the story.
2. The attention to minor characters
   The attention given in sketching out the minor characters in the movie was laudable, Arup’s (the graphic designer) Boss who keep pestering him with ‘minor’ changes to his Banana character… “7% more smile please…”, being graphic designer  myself (coming from a world where “Red can be a bit more Redder and blue a bit more bluer”, “the composition looks better if it is shifted 5 pixels to the left… or… well maybe to the right!”). I fully empathise with Arup’s character.  Then there is the freebie grabber, Vijay “gangster” Raaz’s henchman who, while going about doing his business doesn’t miss an opportunity to grab free meals, or towards the end free goods, Imran “Tashi”s sunglasses (this my friend pointed out to me) .
3. The subtle comedy
   Unlike other in-your-face comedies, I found the funniest lines in Delhi Belly are not the loudest or the most visually most animated ones. They were subtle, and delivered with a straight face. Here is a sampler…, right in a middle of  a ‘life and dead’ situation…Nitin “the photographer”, just realized that his room mate, Arup had gone bald… he ask him… “…usey (the gangsters) tujhe faansi pe latkane se pehle tera mundan kiya tha kya????” trust me  there are plenty like this in the film that will have you in splits.
4. The Cinematography
   The cinematography, that set the tone of the movie right at the beginning was absolutely brilliant, each frames of the opening credits could as well have been frozen and framed on the wall, they were inspirations and a lesson in photography itself. Sadly though I couldn’t find much about the cinematographer, Jason West, would have love to check out his photography. The only thing that I found out was that he was also the man behind the lens for “Rock On!” another one of my favourite.

Author: Robert Hsu aka Hsu Ka An

I am Hsu Ka An a.k.a Robert. I am a third generation Indian Chinese and an HFI - Certified Usability Analyst . I have been in the UX Role since the last 6 years. I am currently working as a Sr. UX Designer in Quantum Inventions, a company that deal with Digital Mobility Solutions like GPS and Logistics Tracking. Prior to that I worked in Web Spiders Pvt. Ltd. Beside work: I am an avid hoarder of visual ideas I do write some time at my Blog site I help my fellow Uxer’s to find their way in the UX Industry. I am also an active member of the Indian Chinese Association and lead the team in organising various cultural events. View all posts by Robert Hsu aka Hsu Ka An