Featuring two thoughtful poems of Law Minister Kapil Sibal, read by himself on the screen both in the beginning and ending of the film, DILLI GANG is not actually a commercial venture made for some profit earning, as it seems. The project hasn’t got any visible cinematic features to write about. But despite the fact it strongly raises a very alarming and relevant social issue of the present times, wherein the old parents are left alone to spend their last years in a separate home (with all their expenses taken care off) without any emotional support or security.
Not following the usual mindset of making a typical Hindi film, actually DILLI GANG is more of a personal expression on the screen to raise this sick and debatable issue among the people. Based on the brutal murders of old age couples living alone in the metro cities, it doesn’t have any interesting story progression (script) or intense drama to keep you engaged. The director mainly stresses upon the emotional bonding between the old loving couple (with many long scenes) and through them wishes to convey his simple message related with the human elements of Trust (The Driver), Responsibility (The Son) and Greed (The Killers). However with a quite predictable & directionless culmination, the message fails to impress or even reach the limited viewers in its desired form.
Moreover, it’s a 100 minutes film made on a 30 minutes content, which has been purposefully titled DILLI GANG, just to bring in some young crowd into the theater. No doubt the intention is perfectly noble here, but the viewers are not going to find anything directly related to the title in the film, to be straight. The director doesn’t present the gang of four (making the attacks) in any thrilling or convincing manner and the same is the case with the representation of Police officers in the film, searching for the culprits so vaguely. In other words, such powerful subjects of social awareness have been more aptly handled in serials like CRIME PATROL and others on the TV Channels and DILLI GANG is not even close to them in terms of its execution and impact.
Having said that, one does find the emotions coming in rightly in few of its tense sequences, sincerely enacted by talented actors like Darshan Jariwala, Yashpal Sharma, Neena Kulkarni and to some extent Amir Dalvi. But due to a pretty lazy and uninspiring screenplay, there is nothing they can do to lift-up the film individually and one doesn’t find himself moved or touched by the overall depiction at all.
Nevertheless as mentioned before, it is not the film but the ‘social evil’ which has to be given more importance here in the review, which in my opinion was also the main motive behind the making of this film in all possibilities.
Interestingly the issue is not why the ‘old age couples’ are being targeted by the criminal minds in the metros. But the issue is that why these ‘old age couples’ are made to live their last years of life in such a lonely manner, away from their own kids, who are now grown up enough to take this ‘questionable’ or rather ‘shameful’ decision.
To be honest, here I would not like to go into the same old mold of AVTAAR (1983) or AMRIT (1986) wherein the young kids are not willing to take care of their old parents respectfully and are either interested in walking away or treat them like servants in their own homes. No doubt the shocking problem effectively portrayed in these films made in the 80s, still prevails among us in the year 2013 too. But somehow, this remains the earlier version of the big evil (the more ugly side of the coin) and the newer (21st century’s) upgrade version of the problem is something else, which needs to be studied with a different perspective related with the core issue.
Now today it can be widely seen that the young (well educated & socially aware) sons are not shying away from their family responsibilities, are duly ready to take care of their parents as they should by spending a good amount of money. Yet they are not willing to let them live along with them as a joint family and are more interested in living separately in two different houses (as in the west).
So in this newer version of the issue, now the ‘old age couple’ is being open heartedly given a good house, a fine standard of living with all their medical and daily expenses paid off, plus all extra amount spent on their leisure time activities too with a wider vision. But still the willingness to let them live along with their grand-kids is not seen and the couple is left alone in a separate house, to be visited only on the festivals. In other words, money is rightfully spent on the old couple fulfilling the moral duty, but the much desired ‘Time’ & ‘Togetherness’ is not provided and that ‘Ugly Traumatic Gap’ in this crucial time of life still exists, making the old couples more vulnerable to such planned heinous crimes in the metros.
In comparative terms, if earlier (before 2000) such educated but arrogant, spineless youngsters used to leave their parents orphaned on the mercy of their own fate, society and few old age houses. Now at present they are doing the same in a more sophisticated way, by funding an individual old age home for their ageing parents bought in a decent locality at a good price. Explaining it further with a clear example, now if the son is settled in a big flat of Gurgaon living a classy life, then his parents must be living in any old colony of Delhi. And if the old age couple is living in a fine flat of Gurgaon then their sons must be living in any foreign country sending them all the expenses every month, without any hassles.
The scenario is widely known to everybody in the locality including the watchman, maids, milkman, press-wala and more, who pass on this inviting information (about the elderly couple living alone) to the bad elements, knowingly or unknowingly. And that’s what leads to a well-planned attack, loot and cold blooded murders done so easily without fear of any resistance or problem.
Thankfully DILLI GANG brings forward this significant issue on the screen as an insightful attempt, but I only wish they had done it more professionally in a much impactful manner. Anyway, though it’s obvious that the film will fail to reach a wider audience spreading the much needed awareness but it is indeed great that someone has at least thought of making a project on this significant issue, without caring about any business prospect or profits.
Hence supporting the cause, I would like to end this write-up by giving the same urgent message to all the youngsters that our parents don’t need only facilities, money or a good house in their final years, in the name of moral duties fulfilled. But what they really need is their family, grand-kids, togetherness and love to be showered upon in their last phases of life undeniably. And one can see this satisfaction in their eyes at the time of festivals when everyone is there around them celebrating together, after a long gap.
Further taking into account the basic theme of the film talking about a son who fails to be there with his parents in their last days, I would like to share few enlightening lines of a renowned Punjabi poet Janaab Surjeet Paatar, in which he beautifully describes the consequences of this ‘sad but true’ distance between the families living separately……..…and he says,
“Jo Badeshan Ch Ruldey Ne Rozi Layi,
Oh Jadon Des Partange Yaaron Kadi,
Kujh Te Sekangey Maa De Sivey Di Agan,
Baaki Kabran De Rukh Heth Ja Behenge”
(When the people, who are living in foreign lands in order to earn some big money, would return to their homelands someday, then a few would be able to feel the love of their mother again but the rest would be sitting under the tree besides her grave.)
Rating : 1+1 / 5 (Including the additional 1 just for the insightful attempt made)
