New Delhi

Arriving in New Delhi, Anand calls for a taxi -- just as Mohini is already doing so. They each get in from opposite sides, each claiming primacy. When they appeal to the driver as arbiter, he opines that he thought they were together. Mohini gets home to find her father distributing his home-made oil into differently-labeled containers. When she questions why, he answers that nowadays labels are all people care about, not contents.

Thus does NEW DELHI declaim its premise almost instantly. The next 2.5 hours will see a variety of people pretending to be one regional identity or another, punctuated by songs and Vijayanthimala's mind-bending dance moves. Marriages will be arranged, prejudices will be voiced (and/or acted upon), and misunderstandings will occur. It's all sorted out at the end, of course -- but the point is made, however cartoonishly. An important film in its own right.

Note: the available DVD (as of 2020) has a running time of 2:36.