Delhi-6 almost a character in contemporary cinema

Old Delhi seems to be Hindi cinema’s go-to place for the setting of a packed, bustling mohalla with old-world charm and lots of dramatic potential. From Sudhir Mishra’s Yeh Saali Zindagi to Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D in the past, to upcoming films like Sanjeev Sharma’s Saat Uchakkey and Sachin Gupta’s Paranthe Wali Gali, Delhi-6 is almost a living, breathing character in contemporary cinema.Many upcoming films are also set in this area, perhaps because nothing says ‘Delhi’ like the crowds and bustle of Chandni Chowk.
'I've always found Old Delhi to be a microcosm of India' Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has said time and again that the Walled City, the one that he explored in the film Delhi 6, is all about the Delhi of his childhood. “I've always found Old Delhi to be a microcosm of India. The kind of people, the sensibility, the likes and dislikes, aspirations.... It’s an absolutely fantastic place. It’s all about people, people and more people – jaise ki kahin pe ek tap hai, jis mein se log tapak rahe hain, people are coming out, and someone has forgotten to shut the tap, to turn it off. It’s a big myth that Old Delhi was set up in Rajasthan (in my film). What you see on the screen ultimately is a mix of over 6,000 visuals of the place. Nothing was created or re-created. It was a clever mix and match. Just one crowded lane we created in a place called Sambal. The rest of everything was compositing. Those shots where you see Sonam on the terrace and the Jama Masjid in the backdrop, that was slipped in there later. But still, Chandni Chowk, Red Fort, that area has its never-ending charm for me. There are people always trying to make money, trying to do something – enterprising. Here you will find everyone, from the conmen to the most affluent, most learned soul.”
The fight, the dirty talk, the rackets, the language – everything is part of everyday life of Old Delhi Yeh Saali Zindagi was shot with a different mindset, says Sudhir Mishra. “And to decode the Walled City, I had with me Vipul Vig, and Manu Rishi, who was from Chandni Chowk. I gave the girl and the boy in the film – Irrfan and Chitrangda – roots in Old Delhi. Arun and Priti, their love, the twisted situation, as twisted as the galis of Chandni Chowk. The cycle rickshaw, the narrow lanes, the teeming population. The eye catches a million things as you stand still for a moment anywhere in Old Delhi. If you stand on a terrace, you can see a thousand minute details of life and lifestyle,” says Mishra. “The mannerism of Arunoday (Kuldeep), the fight, the dirty talk, the rackets, the language – everything is part of everyday life of Old Delhi. People use everyday language when tried the most – that was the realism of gritty living that struck me. For example, in one scene, when he is thinking of Chitrangda, Irrfan compares her to a plate of rajma – for him, that is as real a love, the love for food. He loves rajma, he loves Chitrangda. Typical of a Delhiite, to compare love to food,” adds the director.
'You won’t get that feel anywhere else. It’s too vibrant, it’s too diverse' Tamanchey’s lead actor and producer Nikhil Dwivedi, who plays a role inspired by Abu Salem in the film, feels that Old Delhi is very difficult to recreate anywhere else. “You won’t get that feel anywhere else in the country. It’s too vibrant, it’s too diverse. The culture and heritage is so rich, and it looks very beautiful on camera. I’ve shot the action sequences of Tamanchey in Old Delhi. On camera, that part of Delhi has a different vibe. When you see the background of Jama Masjid and all those shops with different things kept in them, it looks so colourful and vibrant.”
'Narrow galis, sweet folks' Manoj Bajpayee (inset), whose upcoming film Saat Uchakkey was shot in Chandni Chowk, says that its seven protagonists are from Old Delhi, and that the narrow lanes of the Walled City are as typical of the place as the warmth of its people. “So many lives are created and constructed in the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk. The way the residents interact with each other, is unique. It is the whole country in itself. The director, Sanjeev Sharma, was born and brought up in Chandni Chowk, and hence, could capture the flavour of the area,” says Manoj, whose film shows both these aspects of Old Delhi. The people did not disturb the shoot at all, says the actor. “People there are very sweet... they came and greeted me, and then let us shoot in peace. Sometimes, not being a star is a boon! Delhi has given so much to me, and Old Delhi has its own share.”
'Purani Dilli ka khana' Paranthe Wali Gali, as is evident from the name, is set extensively in that eponymous part of Old Delhi. Director Sachin Gupta felt that in order to retain the flavour of the area, he had to shoot in Old Delhi. “My story is in Old Delhi. We selected certain locations, like Kinari Bazar, Nai Sarak, Khari Baoli, Chandni Chowk, etc, to shoot in. We rented some houses, which had families living in them. We shot in a 200-year-old sarai. Old Delhi is visually very rich, and that was my main motivation to shoot here. Also, I wanted to retain the flavour of Old Delhi, and hence, no part of my film is shot in a studio,” says Gupta. “We had extensive workshops to understand behaviour, manner of clothing of locals and the like. We bought clothes from roadside shops in Chandni Chowk. And all the while, the best part was the food that we had during the shoot!” adds Sachin.
By- Jyothi Prabhakar, Kashika Saxena and Ananya Bhattacharya