Delhi Belly

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 1st July, 2011
Time : 102 minutes
Director : Abhinay Deo; Writer : Akshat Verma; Music : Ram Sampath
Starring : Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shenaz Treasurywala, Poorna Jagannathan, Vijay Raaz

“Once, from a man who's crotch was itchy,
Kunaal had a masala chicken tandoori.
His rumblings abdominal,
then became truly phenomenal,
And smelly to the highest degree !"

Irreverent, spicy, fast paced and very, very funny


Imran, Kunaal and Vir are room mates. They try not to do the domestic chores for which its their turn. Water scarcity, filth and unwashed clothes & bodies abound in their abode. They’re quite different to each other but seem to get along quite well.


Imran is one of the serious types, into good, investigative journalism and a conscientious worker as proven by the different situations in which he takes a work phone call. His new, attractive colleague (Poorna) feels he should loosen up and an untimely erection suggests she may be right. His girlfriend (Shenaz), one of the self-obsessed, vacuous types, feels they should get married soon and her parents gift him a new car which is described as “what comes out when a donkey fucks a cycle rickshaw” by the irrepressible Kunaal .

“Did they shave your head before they tried to hang you ?”

Kunaal, a photo-journalist, works with Imran & is also into blackmail, eating out and is the reason behind the films title. Not averse to the simpler pleasures of life, he is also the reason why Vir can never drink orange juice again.

“Can you make the banana a little more sad ? By 7%”

Vir, a cartoonist, is happily going out with his girlfriend, Ritu, or so he thinks. His song of angst, ‘Jaa Chudail’ is a classic. He’s not happy at work, his voice undergoes a major change towards the end of the film but soon that’s going to be the least of his worries


The movie itself revolves around a package delivery which is treated extremely casually by Shenaz and the three room mates. In the end, a wrong one gets delivered, and the very angry recipient, Vijay Raaz, lets the four of them feel his wrath. Subplots involving a blackmail gone wrong and a kathak dancer only add to the fun and mayhem.



“And because I’m a 21st century man, I too have given your daughter oral pleasure”

A fantastic background score, superb dialogue, a zany sense of urban, tongue in cheek humour ensure that the viewing experience is great. The decision to run it without an interval deserves applause as it ensures the pace never flags. I liked the fact that screen time was shared quite equally between the room mates and just because he is the hero, Imran didn’t get treated differently.

I felt Aamir’s much talked about item number was unnecessary, didn’t work for me. The film is clearly inspired by the Guy Ritchie school of film-making (and at least one scene is a direct lift from one of his).

"Your ass is like a solar eclipse”

In a country where mindless films are also called comedies, this is an example of what the genre could and should really be about. Several laugh out loud moments are guaranteed, this one is going to bear repeated viewing !