Bombay (1995) is an award-winning Tamil feature film drama directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. The film met with a strong reception upon release.
The film is centred on events, particularly during the period of December 1992 to January 1993 in India, and the controversy surrounding the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Increased religious tensions in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai) led to the Bombay Riots.
Eventually becoming one of the highest grossing films of the Chennai film industry, the film caused considerable controversy upon release in India and abroad for its depiction of inter-religious relations. Well received critically and commercially, it was screened at many international film festivals including the Philadelphia Film Festival in 1996 where it was an audience favourite.
The film was banned in Singapore, and Malaysia upon release.
In July 2005, a book on the film by Lalitha Gopalan was published by BFI Modern Classics, looking at the film's production, the several issues it covered, and its impact upon release in India and abroad.[1][2] The film was also dubbed in Hindi and Telugu.
Cast
Plot
Shekhar (Arvind Swamy) is the son of a traditional Hindu father in a seaside village in Tamil Nadu. A journalism student studying in Bombay, Shekhar visits back home to see his family. On one of his return trips, he lays eyes on Shaila Bano (Manisha Koirala), a Muslim schoolgirl in the village. Initially shy, Shaila seeks to distance herself from Shekhar, but after frequent run-ins, and days of pursuit, Shaila begins to like Shekhar. Eventually, they both fall in love.
A marriage proposal is vehemently opposed by the lovers' fathers. Shekar's father refuses to accept Shaila as his daughter-in-law, telling Shekhar to find another partner, whilst Shaila's father announces the need for an immediate marriage between his daughter and a Muslim man. Shekhar's father says if the two ever get married, he will cease talking to his son. Shekhar reacts angrily to his father's refusal to accept Shaila, and so leaves, back to Bombay. Shaila, under increasing pressure from her father, escapes from the village and joins Shekhar. At first, Shaila is overwhelmed by the city, having relocated for the first time from rural surroundings to a city life. However, with time she adapts to her new lifestyle. The two get married. The newlyweds move into a new apartment.
A few months later, Shaila becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins, Kabir Narayan and Kamal Basheer. The twins are raised in both religions. Shekar continues to work as a journalist, whilst Shaila works at home, looking after the children. For six years, the family live in Bombay, settling in well, and begin the process of repairing relations with their respective families. The relatives visit the family in the city for the first time in over half a decade, and are overjoyed to see their two grandchildren.
Meanwhile, in India, religious extremism launches each community against the other, causing a wave of Hindu/Muslim riots that leave hundreds dead in Bombay. Targets of violence from both sides, Shaila and Shekhar worry increasingly over the safety of their children, who do not have a religion as Hinduism and Islam cannot mix. They are constantly under threat. The growing tension threatens to bring tragedy to the family and during this tense situation, they lose their children in the city and the parents of Shekhar and Shaila get burnt in their house.
Shekhar and Shaila eventually get their children back, and also put an end to the riot.
Awards
The film has won the following awards since its release:
National
1996 National Film Awards
1996 Filmfare Awards
1996 Filmfare Awards South
1995 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
International
1995 Edinburgh International Film Festival (Scotland)
1996 Political Film Society Awards (United States)
Music
Bombay: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The original soundtrack features score and 6 songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics in the Tamil language by Vairamuthu.
Track listing:
- "Antha Arabic" (5:16) – A. R. Rahman, Suresh Peters
- "Halla Gulla" (5:51) – Noel, Anupama Deshpande, Malgudi Subha, G.V. Prakash, Shweta Mohan
- "Uyire Uyire" (7:22) – Hariharan, K. S. Chithra
- "Kuchi Kuchi" (5:09) – Hariharan, Swarnalatha, Shweta Mohan
- "Kannalanae" (5:57) – K. S. Chithra, A.R.Rahman-(Sargams)
- "Malarodu Malaringu" (5:16) – Anuradha Sriram
- "Bombay Theme" (5:16) – A. R. Rahman, Flute : Pravin Mani
The track "Bombay Theme" from the soundtrack is an instrumental orchestral piece composed and arranged by A. R. Rahman. It was featured in the Palestinian film Divine Intervention in 2002, and more recently on the soundtrack and score of the Nicolas Cage film Lord of War, released in 2005. It has appeared on several compilation CDs since the film's release including on Volume 5 of the chill-out compilation Café del Mar, released in 1998. It also appeared on a French TV commercial for Volvic starring Zinedine Zidane in 2000. The theme was also sampled by the German band Löwenherz for their song "Bis in die Ewigkeit".[3] The soundtrack also found success in its dubbed versions. The Hindi version of the song "Kannalanae", titled "Kehna Hi Kya", was sampled by Ciara for her new song "Turntable".
Further reading
References
External links
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