- In the ancient walled city of Delhi, an American-born Indian finds himself on an unexpected inner journey as he learns about himself and his roots.
- U.S.-based Roshan Mehra's mother, Fatima, is Muslim, while his dad is Hindu. When his ailing grandmother, Annapurna, wants to re-locate to Delhi to spend her last days, he accompanies her. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Ali Beg, who wanted to marry Fatima, but was not able to disclose his feelings to her. He also gets to meet the Sharma family, who hope that he will wed Rama, the daughter of Madan, who is busy looking for a groom for his other rather rebellious daughter, Bittu, who wants to be the next Indian Idol. He also gets to meet assorted Muslim and Hindus, who welcome him with open arms, and he gets to witness that lower caste Indians are still being shunned despite of modern technology and the launching of satellites. When reports of a Kala Bandhar terrorizing the community increases, Hindus start to suspect that it may be a Muslim terrorist, while the Muslims fear that it may be a Hindu political ploy to demolish a mosque.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
- Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) accompanies his dying grandmother Annapurna (Waheeda Rehman) to their ancestral property in Old Delhi where he is initially stunned by the mad rush of neighbors: Ali Baig (Rishi Kapoor) the renaissance man, feuding brothers Madangopal (Om Puri) and Jaigopal (Pavan Malhotra), their wives and families, Mamdu (Deepak Dobriyal) the confectioner, Gobar (Atul Kulkarni) the simpleton, Sethji and many others. Annapurna has brain tumor and has limited time to live. Roshan and Annapurna lived in the US when she expressed the desire to see her ancestral home before leaving. Roshan's father refuses to go to Delhi with her, and so Roshan volunteered.
Hindus and Muslims live together in this microcosm of a nation. The locality has a tree temple which the Hindus revere. Annapurna's neighbors are Rajjo Bhabhi (Sheeba Chaddha) and Vimla (Supriya Pathak). Rajjo is Jaigopal's wife, while Vimla is Mandangoal's wife. Roshan accompanies his grandmother to the Ramleelas, hangs out at Mamdu's sweet stall, plays with the children, and gradually becomes steeped in the culture. When Annapurna faints due to fluctuating blood sugar levels and everyone scrambles to get her to a hospital, Roshan finds the roads choked by traffic because of an impromptu ceremony around a cow in labor; he is further surprised when his grandmother, despite her stupor, stumbles forth to seek the blessings of the cow and the local police seem to encourage the practice. Roshan begins to understand the feuds and social issues in the community.
Madangopal's sister Rama (Aditi Rao Hydari) is unwed and Jaigopal's electrical business is going nowhere. The lecherous old local money lender Lala Bhairam's (Prem Chopra) wife Shashi (Geeta Bisht) is having an affair with a young photo-studio hand Suresh (Cyrus Sahukar), a double timer also pursuing Madangopal's daughter Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) who secretly prepares to audition for a popular reality show Indian Idol. Roshan is surprised to learn that Ali Baig fancied his mother many years ago and has since never married. Roshan also comes to empathize with the lower-caste trash collector girl Jalebi (Divya Dutta), and crosses paths with the loutish inspector Ranvijay (Vijay Raaz) who blithely stretches his authorities to manhandle the locals. Jalebi is from a lower caste and is not allowed to sit in religious activities with other people from higher castes.
On the other hand, the media is all abuzz with tales of a miscreant known as the "Kala Bandar" who attacks, steals and has caused the death of a few innocent people. After some initial friction, Roshan and Bittu warm to each other. Roshan intervenes when he learns of Madangopal trying to get Bittu married against her wishes but earns Madangopal's wrath. While supporting her dreams, he gradually begins to fall in love with her. Bittu too begins to reciprocate but is left saddened by the news of his return to America. Bittu auditions for Indian Idol and is selected. She tells Madangopal that she doesn't want to get married. Later when Roshan confronts Bittu after Madangopal fixes her marriage forcibly (Madangopal pays a heavy dowry to fix the match and takes a loan from Lala to fund the wedding festivities), he is disappointed when she expresses her plan of eloping with Suresh in order to achieve her dreams, unaware of his hidden affair with Shashi and his other intentions. But Roshan had seen Suresh fleeing from under Sashi's window and knew that Suresh was double timing Bittu. Ranvijay already suspects Roshan as Roshan has been found at the location of every Kaala Bandar sighting in the locality.
Around this time, the Kala Bandar attacks Old Delhi. In order to exorcise the demonic influence of the Kala Bandar, the locals bring in a Tantrik Shani Baba (Akhilendra Mishra) who speculates that the local mosque must have been built over the ruins of a temple that was demolished for the purpose, thus initiating a vicious cycle of animosity in the previously harmonious Hindu-Muslim community.
Roshan decides to go back to US with Annapurna, but she is adamant that she will die in her family house in India. Roshan is disgusted that people in India would be divided in the name of faith but will not take any actions by themselves.
After the initial peaceful demonstrations, a mob goes on rampage and attacks some of the Muslims and their shops, including Mamdu's sweet shop. This prompts Mamdu to set fire to the tree temple. Roshan attempts to make peace but is rebuffed because of his mixed religious parentage. The locals ultimately settle on the fact that the Kala Bandar is hiding out in the Sooni Gali (a dark lane known to harbor evil presences), and command Gobar to fetch a lock of hair from the evil enemy so that the Tantrik can burn it and complete the exorcism.
Roshan realizes his affection for Bittu. He decides to stop her and confess his love upon Ali Baig's advice. So, he dons a monkey outfit, stealthily following Bittu by leaping across the rooftops. In the meantime, Gobar ventures into the Sooni Gali where Jalebi gives him a lock of her hair so he may return in triumph and bring peace to the community. At that moment, Roshan (in his monkey outfit) intercedes in Bittu and Suresh's rendezvous and causes the cowardly Suresh to flee. Bittu raises a loud alarm before Roshan unmasks himself, expresses his feelings for her which she reciprocates.
The angry locals storm the place and beat up Roshan, believing him to be the Kala Bandar, before Mamdu shoots him. Gobar then proclaims that the Kala Bandar is in fact the vices residing inside the people of Delhi 6 and something they must defeat within themselves. The neighborhood realizes this and arranges for an ambulance. Roshan does not respond to the treatment, leaving people to believe that he died. In the meanwhile, the nearly dying Roshan meets his dead grandfather (Amitabh Bachchan) who reveals that there is a Kala Bandar in his own heart and that is why he wanted to ask forgiveness to his daughter-in-law, Roshan's mother, for not accepting her inter-religious marriage. Soon, he responds to the treatment and survives, much to everyone's happiness. He remembers Ali Baig's words, "Who can ever wish to leave Delhi's lanes?" rejoicing all with his wish to stay there forever. Roshan narrates that it is the Kala Bandar, which is like the demon king Ravana, which can create hatred and divide among human beings. At the end he concludes that he returned to his home, which he now considers to be Delhi 6.
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