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Delhi Belly (2010)

Director: Abhinay Deo

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12 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

This new Bollywood film, the opening movie at this year’s London Indian Film Festival, is a raucous, potty-mouthed caper, featuring the antics of three hapless amigos. Directed by Abhinay Deo, it boasts the tagline ‘shit happens’ and, as the title suggests, a running joke involving gastric woes. ‘Delhi Belly’ is peppy, sporadically hilarious and its female characters are of little consequence – in short, it’s the less sleazy Indian equivalent of ‘The Hangover’.

Young Bollywood star Imran Khan is Tashi, a journalist living in squalor with his partners-in-crime: rotund photographer Nitin (Kunaal Roy Kapur) and geeky cartoonist Arup (comedian Vir Das). Tashi is engaged, but with little enthusiasm, to the glamorous but overbearing Sonia (Shenaz Treasurywala), an unwitting mule for mysterious Vladimir (Danish star Kim Bodnia). When Sonia entrusts the delivery of a mystery package to the trio, their inevitable cock-up triggers ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’-style gangster shenanigans. Meanwhile Tashi’s attention is drawn by a free-spirited colleague, Menaka (Poorna Jagannathan).

‘Delhi Belly’ makes an undisguised, earnest bid for crossover success and is aimed squarely at the youth market. It’s predominantly in English and, despite its pretty mainstream origins (Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s production company is responsible), it’s profane and cartoonishly violent.

It teems with youthful verve but it’s also derivative and inconsistent, with patchy storytelling and an ending too clearly inspired by ‘True Romance’. Tashi’s romantic complications are cursorily presented and there is a distinct lack of frisson between Khan and Jagannathan. Nevertheless, Das and Kapur make for effective sidekicks, it’s pacy, fitfully funny and, in its determination to upend cultural expectations, likeably mischievous.

Author: Emma Simmonds

Time Out London Issue 2132, Jun 30-Jul 6 2011

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User reviews of this film

Russell said...

Posted on Jul 16 2011 08:06 Possibly the riskiest thing that Aamir Khan could've done is play fast and loose with his reputation and put out a comedy. Not just a comedy either, one that plays with social convention, cannabalises cliches and blurs lines of what is right and what's wrong. It's a comedy that exists in the wider environment and many of it's gags and set ups echo the hollywood blockbuster comedies of recent years, however unlike many of those comedies it has a warm beating heart at it's core and not a moral vacuum underneath perfect teeth. It's easy against the belly laughs and gross out comedy to miss a beautifully shot and incredibly warm film that is not prescriptive in it's morality. It asks us as it asks it protagonists to find their own way in a changing world. I'd suggest that it's easily the funniest comedy of the year and pretty close to being the best film of any description.

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ghidera said...

Posted on Jul 13 2011 13:16 Most of Garbo's, Chaplin's, MGM's great Musical's, Warner Bros, Paramount etc are Hollywood. Those people you claim are old hat are people who value film history. The Bollywood poor boy meets rich girl, gains revenge etc has been the template for most of the films made in Boring-wood! Why should I say otherwise? The worst films I have seen come from Bollywood. You are right, it is an entertainment. Designed to keep the poor of India, poor. and not to enhance the minds of the needy. It is predominantly an attempt at veiling any progress to those who might further their knowledge of Art. Like I said. It lines the pockets of the greedy and rich Bollywood producers and uninteresting (Westernised) Actors and Actresses. I am surprised you mentioned Quentin again, for it was you who used him as a reference in your first entry. Yes, there is a massive audience in Asia and Europe for Bollywood Films. But then there was a massive readership until recently for The News Of The World. It's not about quality when it comes to this sort of work for we would mention quality in reference to it as if it were a surprise. But then I prefer that we are both entitled to an opinion on this and my view is that Bollywood is connected to Hollywood (as you say) only in that it contains all the ugliness and artlessness that Hollywood had and has advanced it by adding more chrome.

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Indicool said...

Posted on Jul 13 2011 00:28 Gidharji, I am well aware of Ray, Ghatak, Sen, Gopalkrishnan et al. However, that does not mean Bollywood should disappear. From the beginning Bollywood has provided a progressive sound track to the Indian masses. The very first Bollywood movie Achutkanya was about the love between a dalit girl and an uppercaste man. quite revolutionary in the 1920s. More recently, the crude Bollywood comedies helped cancel the colonial anti gay laws with minimal protests. Many would say the romantic vision of Guru Dutt (mainstream bollywood) was more original and creative than the Italianesque neo realism of Ray. Appreciating high culture does not mean that you should be ashamed of pop cultiure. That was my point about the Japanese Manga. Bollywood needs to be compared not to arthouse cinema, but to hollywood. I found Hollywood cliched and dull and formulaic. I look for colours, music, emotions and a few good laughs in Bollywood, and mostly I get it. So do Africans, Latinos, Soviet Bloc people and the East Asian, what's left? Oh the G8 countries, who are rapidly becoming irrelevant. You obviously did not see the movie DB. New Bollywood is exciting because I can personally relate to it and own it. Hollywood is for wannabes. And dude, did you actually use the words "morals" and "Tarantino" in one sentence?!

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ghidera said...

Posted on Jul 12 2011 10:34 Indicool. I don't see the connection between Anime Porn Bollywood? Perhaps you can enlighten me. I can help you on this if you like? Most of the decent, worthy films to come out of India were made on the East coast. The scraps, for the simple minded became Bollywood. To make a comparison between Tarrantino and the dross that is churned out of the factories in Mumbai is a fairly typical misunderstanding, creating incoherent violence and ever more spurious morals, just to entertain their undemanding public! Perhaps I could encourage you to watch the films of Mizoguchi, Ozu or Kurosawa? I would hope that you understand my meaning? Film can be all you want without it becoming a victim of the film equivalent of News International, lining the pockets of the greedy and untalented. I do like Indian cinema. Just not the popcorn you watch, that's all.

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indicool said...

Posted on Jul 12 2011 09:48 Loved the movie. This is not your mother's Bollywood. I love how every Bollywood cliche is used and subverted. The muse of new Bollywood is tarantino. Why should it go away GIDHERA? Are the Japanese ashamed of their cartoon porn? Bollywood is way better, you self hating auntyji!

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DILIP said...

Posted on Jul 11 2011 12:26 Never expected such crap from Amir khan wonder how did film gone thro censor

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deepu said...

Posted on Jul 07 2011 14:14 I liked Delhi belly movie...its different kind
comedy. Watch it with someone you are most
comfortable watch it in this site :http://www.watchhindimovies.com/

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Ghidera said...

Posted on Jul 05 2011 12:42 A movie for the simple-minded. Like most Bollywood films, it lacks any true value or contribution to the medium. When will they (Bollywood) stop making this garbage with extraordinary titles that make my spine tingle with embarrassment. Please stop and go away!

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Monika said...

Posted on Jul 03 2011 07:23 Movie full of crap

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Mainak Roy said...

Posted on Jul 02 2011 14:47 I really loved the movie. I have watched the hindi version. Its truly amazing movie, very bold and very new. Its a path breaking hindi film of an entirely new genre. Aamir Khan does it again.

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Dinesh said...

Posted on Jul 02 2011 07:10 Its pure filth trash for bollywood movie. When directors run of good ideas they resort to this
Aamir has lost all respect i had for making this
Double meaning offending film
I give it minus

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priyank149 said...

Posted on Jul 01 2011 23:40 The author clearly seems to lack an understanding of the sense of humour in the film.
Although the majority of film is in English, I wonder how much of hindi dialogues were subtitled in english. But if you liked Hangover its definitely a must see...too good to miss...

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