Rakeysh
Omprakash
Mehra
missed
his
Saturday-night
flight
to
New
York
for
a
very
special
screening
of
Delhi-6,
when
the
flight
left
it
carried
producer
Ronnie
Screwvala,
Sonam
Kapoor
and
Rakeysh's
wife
Bharti,
but
not
Rakeysh
and
Abhishek.
Instead,
Rakeysh
Mehra
together
with
his
leading
man
Abhishek
Bachchan
headed
for
New
York
on
Sunday
morning
for
the
Sunday-night
screening
of
Delhi-6
at
the
super-prestigious
Museum
Of
Modern
Art.
Rakeysh
spoke
in
transit
from
Dubai,
"We
wanted
to
finish
with
this
NY
screening
before
having
our
first
screening
for
cast
crew
and
family.
I'm
absolutely
proud
that
it's
being
screened
at
MOMA.
Very
proud
that
they
chose
Delhi-6.
MOMA
is
not
a
theatre
one
can
hire
for
a
screening.
Their
curator
saw
our
film.
He
sent
an
email
saying
it'd
be
a
pleasure
to
screen
our
film
at
MOMA."
No
other
film
from
any
part
of
the
world
ever
has
been
premiered
at
MOMA.
Rakeysh
refused
to
take
the
credit.
"It's
not
about
just
Delhi-6.
India
is
doing
well
all
over
the
world.
So
our
cinema
is
bound
to
benefit
from
that.
Happily
for
us,
Delhi-6
is
as
Indian
as
it
can
get.
I
haven't
designed
the
film
for
Western
audiences.
We
need
to
cultivate
a
taste
for
our
recipe
among
western
audiences
and
not
cater
to
their
tastes."
But
before
that
on
Saturday
evening,
Rakeysh
watched
the
entire
release
print
on
his
own.
Not
even
the
film's
lead
pair
or
the
director's
wife
Bharti,
who
edits
his
films,
were
allowed
to
join
Rakeysh.
"Just
me
in
the
theatre
with
my
film.
For
the
sake
of
watching
my
film
all
alone
before
it's
given
over
to
the
world,
I
cancelled
my
flight
to
New
York
on
Saturday.
I
was
supposed
to
leave
for
NY
on
Saturday
night,
I
left
on
Sunday
night,
just
so
that
I
could
watch
my
film
with
me
all
alone.
I
didn't
want
anyone
else
with
me.
After
this
I
don't
think
I'll
watch
the
film
again."
Rakeysh
liked
what
he
saw.
"I
deserved
this
opportunity
to
have
the
entire
theatre
to
myself
and
watch
my
baby
before
it's
given
over
to
the
world.
I've
never
given
this
leave-taking
to
any
film
of
mine
earlier.
Yeah,
I
feel
the
baby
can
stand
up
on
its
own
feet
now.
Not
that
one
can
ever
be
satisfied
with
what
one
makes.
Rahman
once
told
me
getting
90
percent
of
what
you
want
to
create
is
very
hard.
But
getting
from
90
to
91
percent
is
just
as
hard.
That
last
lap
is
impossible
to
achieve.
There's
no
finishing
line.
I
wish
I
had
one
more
month
with
Delhi-6.
But
it
has
to
go
out
now."
Rakeysh
and
his
team
return
to
Mumbai
on
Tuesday
for
a
screening
for
the
cast
and
crew.
"And
then
we've
a
formal
premiere
of
Delhi-6
on
Thursday,
not
in
Mumbai
but
Delhi.
Why
Delhi?
It
is
a
film
about
Delhi,
isn't
it?
My
film
belongs
to
Delhi
and
all
the
small
cities
of
India."
Concludes
Rakeysh,
"We've
done
as
much
we
could
for
the
film.
The
rest
is
not
up
to
us."
Story first published: Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 8:49 [IST]