As one line in ‘Delhi Belly’ goes in reference to the protagonist’s car-‘this is what is born when a donkey mates with a rickshaw’, the film itself is an Indianized neo-noir filled with zany characters, below-the-belt humor and ambivalent morality, that has you gaping at some eye-popping scenes and laughing at some crude humor that you thought would be restricted only to your circle of friends from school/college.
The plot revolves around 3 bachelors who share a run-down pad in Delhi. The protagonist, Tashi is from a well-to-do family but is struggling to find work as a journalist. His room-mates are Nitin and Arup, a photographer who clicks a personal and professional collection each time and Arup, an artist. Nitin develops a severe case of Delhi Belly, when he eats something from an unhygienic roadside vendor. Tashi’s girlfriend, doing a favor for a friend asks him to drop off a package, which gets dropped off to the diagnostic center instead of Nitin’s stool sample, which lands on the desk of a goon. With the mafia hot on their heels, the threesome needs to find a way to save their lives.
The film’s plot is wafer thin and quite hackneyed. Apart from plot and sub-plot, how lateral you can think in creating characters, situations and dialogue that the audience looks for. The writer-director combo of Akshat Verma and Abhinay Deo score in creating all of the above except sub-plots which are glaringly missing. There is not enough to piece together in the end and a couple of characters seem out of place in the climax. If you are into that kind of humor, it is to die for in this film. If not, you will find it distasteful.
The music is excellent, even though it sounds like a tribute to the heavy-bass music in Tarentino films or the Ocean's trilogy. Even then, the blending of musical styles from Saigal to ghazal to disco and rock is done superbly by Ram Sampath. Kudos to that. When 'Bhaag DK Bose' starts playing in the movie, it is so apt that it makes you root for the song even more.
In one of his promotional interviews, Abhinay Deo called the film an ensemble piece and it stays true to claim, with no role gaining prominence over the other right through the film. Vijay Raaz stands out in his portrayal of the local goon in search of the package. Apart from that Kunaal Roy Kapur and Vir Das show good comic timing. Imran Khan as the plotter of the escape plan looks largely out of sorts.
‘Delhi Belly’ is a good watch, if you can brave the dialogue and the boldness.