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''Bombay'' is a 1995 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
-language
romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
film written and directed by
Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...
, starring
Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster ...
and
Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Nepali and English films. Known for her work in both commer ...
. The film tells the story of an inter-religious family in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
before and during the
Bombay riots In the Bombay riots in December 1992 and January 1993, an estimated 900 people died. The riots were mainly due to escalations of hostilities after large scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsev ...
, which took place between December 1992 and January 1993 after the
demolition of the Babri Masjid The demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegally carried out on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, had ...
led to religious tensions between
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
communities. It is the second installment in Ratnam's trilogy of films that depict human relationships against a background of Indian politics, including '' Roja'' (1992) and '' Dil Se..'' (1998). ''Bombay'' was released on 10 March 1995. The film was well-received both critically and commercially successful. It was screened at many international film festivals including the Philadelphia Film Festival in 1996. The film's soundtrack earned composer
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
his fourth consecutive
Filmfare Best Music Director Award (Tamil) The Filmfare Best Music Album Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad Ali was the fir ...
, and is considered one of the greatest Indian soundtracks of all time. However, the film caused considerable controversy upon release in India and abroad for its depiction of inter-religious relations between a Muslim woman and a Hindu man. The film was banned in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
upon release. In July 2005, a book on the film by Lalitha Gopalan was published by
BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
Modern Classics, looking at the film's production, the several issues it covered, and its impact upon release in India and abroad. The film was ranked among the top 20 Indian films in the British Film Institute's rankings.


Plot

Shekhar is the son of an orthodox
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Narayana Pillai living in a coastal village in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
. A journalism student studying in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, Shekhar visits home to be with his family. On one of his return trips, he notices Shaila Banu, a
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
schoolgirl in the village and falls in love with her. 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. Shekhar meets Shaila's father Basheer and says he wants to marry Shaila. Basheer refuses, citing difference in religions. Shekhar reveals his interest to his father, who becomes angry, meets Basheer and gets into an abusive argument with him. Upset with rejection from both families, Shekhar returns to Bombay. Through a friend of hers, he sends Shaila a letter and a ticket for her to travel to Bombay. However, she is undecided; Basheer learns of her regular letters from Shekhar and plans to marry her off to stop this relation growing further. Left with no choice, Shaila leaves the village with the ticket and reaches Bombay. Shekhar and Shaila marry and lead a happy life. In a year, Shaila conceives and delivers twin boys who are named Kabir Narayan and Kamal Basheer. The twins are raised in both religions. Shekhar continues to work as a journalist, while Shaila takes care of home and children. In six years, Shekhar and Shaila firmly settle down in their life and begin the process of re-establishing a relationship with their respective families. When the
Babri Masjid Babri Masjid ( IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim commun ...
is
demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a b ...
on 6 December 1992,
riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
break out in Bombay. Kabir and Kamal, who had gone to buy groceries, get caught in the riots; eventually, Shekhar and Shaila save them and reach home safely. Narayana Pillai, who receives the news of the riots, rushes to Bombay to meet his son and his family. He reconciles with his son and everyone is happy with his arrival, and he stays with them. Soon, Basheer also comes with his wife and all of them live together happily for a few days. Both Pillai and Basheer are happy with their grandchildren, try to get both to their religion and wish to be with them. On 8 January 1993, when two murders are propagated as communal killings, another riot breaks out in Bombay, raising tensions between religious communities. Hindus and Muslims clash in the streets, resulting in hundreds of deaths on both sides. During the conflict, arsonists set fire to the apartment where Shekhar lives with his family. Shekhar tries to evacuate everyone, but Narayana Pillai, Basheer and his wife fail to escape in time and are killed when the building explodes. In the confusion of the panicking crowds, Kamal and Kabir are separated from their parents. Kamal is saved by a transgender woman who cares for him and protects him, while Kabir searches aimlessly for his brother. Shekhar and Shaila begin to search for them and they go through several tense moments, as they check the morgues and hospitals for their children. Shekhar grows emotional and participates in the movement to stop the riots with other moderate religious leaders, ultimately succeeding. When the riots end, Shaila and Shekhar are reunited with their children tearfully as the people on the streets join hands, regardless of age or religion.


Cast

Credits adapted from ''Conversations with Mani Ratnam'': *
Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster ...
as Shekhar Narayanan Pillai *
Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Nepali and English films. Known for her work in both commer ...
as Shaila Banu * Nassar as Narayanan Pillai, Shekhar's father * Kitty as Basheer *
Tinnu Anand Tinu Anand (born Virender Raj Anand, 12 October 1945) is an Indian actor, director, writer and producer in Hindi cinema and a few Telugu and Tamil films. Early life He is the son of veteran writer Inder Raj Anand, brother of producer Bittu An ...
as the Sakthi Samaj Head *
Akash Khurana Akash Khurana is an Indian actor, screenwriter, theatre artist and entrepreneur. His first screen appearance was in Shyam Benegal's '' Kalyug''. He has appeared in nearly 60 films, including ''Ardh Satya'', ''Saaransh'', ''Naam'', ''Beta'', ' ...
as a fanatical Muslim leader * Master Harsha (Sumeet) as Kabir Narayan * Master Hridhay as Kamal Basheer * A. R. Srinivasan as Police officer * Crazy Venkatesh as Servant *
Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...
as Kumar * Rallapalli as a transgender *
M. V. Vasudeva Rao Mudabidri Venkat Rao Vasudeva Rao ( 1920 – 22 March 2002) was an Indian actor. He entered the film world as a child actor in 1928. He won the Best Actor Award at the 23rd National Film Awards for his role of Choma in the '' Chomana Dudi'' (19 ...
* Pramoth as Periya Thambi * Vijaya Chandrika as Visalam * Radhabhai as Pankajam *
Sujitha Sujitha (born 12 July 1982) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam TV serials. She is known for portraying "Dhanam" in ''Pandian Stores'' and in Kerala she is popular for portraying "Unnimaya" in the Asianet TV serial '' ...
in a special appearance Additionally,
Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre (born 1 January 1975) is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She did modelling assignments prior to making her acting debut with '' Aag'' (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for N ...
and
Nagendra Prasad Nagendra Prasad Sundaram (born 19 December 1975) is an Indian dance choreographer and actor who works in Tamil and Kannada films (as a lead actor). He is the youngest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and younger brother to popular cine artist ...
appear in the
item number In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and ...
"Humma Humma".


Production

During the recording of the background score of
Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...
's ''
Thiruda Thiruda ''Thiruda Thiruda'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language black comedy caper film directed by Mani Ratnam written along with Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars Prashanth, Anand, Anu Aggarwal and Heera Rajagopal while S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Salim ...
'' (1993), the
Bombay riots In the Bombay riots in December 1992 and January 1993, an estimated 900 people died. The riots were mainly due to escalations of hostilities after large scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsev ...
broke out. Mani Ratnam planned on making a film in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
about a boy who gets lost in the riots, and requested M. T. Vasudevan Nair to write the script. This was supposed to be Mani Ratnam's second Malayalam film after ''
Unaroo ''Unaroo'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by Mani Ratnam and written by T. Damodaran, starring Mohanlal, Sukumaran, Ratheesh, Sabitha Anand, Ashokan and Balan K. Nair, with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja a ...
'' (1985). But since the idea did not materialise, he decided to make it in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
as the film that would later be titled ''Bombay''. According to Ratnam, ''Bombay'' was not originally planned as a political film: "It was a phase India was going through and these things affected me and found their way into my work."
Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebriti ...
was considered for the female lead, but she opted out due to unavailability of dates, with the production of the film clashing with her Miss World pageant, a title she went on to win. Mani Ratnam held a photo shoot for the film with
Vikram Vikram may refer to: * Vikram (name), a male name in the Hindu community * ''Vikram'' (1986 Tamil film) * ''Vikram'' (1986 Telugu film) * ''Vikram'' (2022 Tamil film) * Vikram (actor) (born 1966), Indian actor * Vikram (spacecraft), an Indian M ...
and
Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Nepali and English films. Known for her work in both commer ...
, but eventually did not choose Vikram as he was unwilling to shave his beard and long hair that he had grown for the production of another film during the period, ''
Pudhiya Mannargal ''Pudhiya Mannargal'' () is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Vikraman with music by A. R. Rahman. The film stars Vikram and Mohini. The movie's score and soundtrack are composed by A. R. Rahman. The film did not perform well commerc ...
'' (1994); the role went to
Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster ...
. Koirala has stated that, though some people advised her against accepting the project since she had to play a mother, she did not listen as there were others "it'll be foolish to refuse a Mani Ratnam film". Koirala's voice was dubbed by Rohini. Nassar, a Muslim in real life, was cast as the father of Swamy's character (a Hindu) while Kitty, a Hindu in real life, was cast as the father of Koirala's character (a Muslim). Ratnam deliberately cast them in those roles as a statement. When Ratnam approached cinematographer
Rajiv Menon Rajiv Menon (born 20 April 1963) is an Indian filmmaker who has worked as a director and cinematographer in several Indian regional film industries. After making his breakthrough as a film cinematographer with Mani Ratnam's drama ''Bombay'' (199 ...
to shoot ''Bombay'', he described it as a film about the riots and said that he (Menon) needed to "(make what came before) the riots as beautiful as possible". So, Menon suggested shooting in the rains to achieve the effect. They shot the interiors of homes in
Pollachi Pollachi is a town and a taluk headquarters in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu state, India. Located about to the south of Coimbatore, it is the second largest town in the district after Coimbatore. Pollachi is a popular Marketplace for jag ...
in Tamil Nadu and the exteriors were shot in
Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala an ...
, and Kannur village in Kerala. The song "Kannalane" was shot at Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, and "Uyire" was shot at Bekal Fort. The demolition of the Babri Masjid was shown onscreen through newspaper headlines and photographs, as the
Censor Board The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
did not want the makers to show the actual destruction.


Themes and influences

Mani Ratnam described ''Bombay'' as "a positive film about communal harmony". He said the Bombay riots were not the main focus of the film, but "a helpless, innocent man caught up in violence not of his own making." The film is the second installment in Ratnam's trilogy of films that depict human relationships against a background of Indian politics, including '' Roja'' (1992) and '' Dil Se..'' (1998). ''
Bangalore Mirror ''Bangalore Mirror'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Bangalore, India. It is a deputed newspaper and is the second-largest circulating English newspaper in the city ''Vijay Times'' ''Vijay Times'' was an English newspaper st ...
'' compared it to the theme of the 1990 movie ''
Come See the Paradise ''Come See the Paradise'' is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Alan Parker, and starring Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita. Set before and during World War II, the film depicts the treatment of Japanese Americans in the United St ...
''.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack album for ''Bombay'' was composed by
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
, in his third collaboration with Mani Ratnam after ''Roja'' and ''Thiruda Thiruda''. The lyrics for the Tamil version were written by Vairamuthu, except for the song "Antha Arabi Kadaloram", which was written by Vaali. The soundtrack of the film became one of the best-selling Indian music albums of all time, with sales of 15million units. The soundtrack was included in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
s "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list, and the song "Kannalanae" sung by K. S. Chithra was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list. "Bombay Theme" has appeared in various international films and music compilations, while the songs "Kannalanae" and "Bombay Theme" have been sampled by various international artists.


Release

''Bombay'' was released on 10 March 1995. The
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...
-dubbed version was released on the same day. It was previously scheduled to release in January 1995, during
Pongal Pongal may refer to: * Pongal (festival), an annual Tamil festival * Pongal (dish) Pongal, also known as pongali or huggi, is an Indian rice dish. In Tamil, "pongal" means "boil" or "bubbling up". The two varieties of pongal are ''chakarai pong ...
. The film caused considerable controversy upon release in India and abroad for its depiction of inter-religious relations between a Muslim woman and a Hindu man. The film was banned in Singapore and Malaysia upon release. Two homemade bombs were thrown at the house of Mani Ratnam, who had to be hospitalised with shrapnel injuries.


Reception


Box office

The Hindi version of the film grossed , as reported by
Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its ow ...
, making it one of the year's ten highest-grossing Hindi films.


Critical reception

''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
'', in a review dated 19 March 1995, rated the film 53 out of 100. Anand Kannan, writing for ''Planet Bollywood'', said, "I wouldn't call this the best of Mani Ratnam ..But good acting, a socially conscious theme and a quick pace make the movie well worth watching." In 1996, American critic James Berardinelli rated the film 3.5 out of 4 and said, "Largely because of their limited North American appeal and dubious quality, Indian movies are routinely ignored by distributors ..Occasionally, however, a worthwhile picture causes enough people to take notice that it becomes a favorite on the international film festival circuit. One such movie is ''Bombay'', the fourteenth feature from celebrated director Mani Rathnam." He concluded, "Director Rathnam has shown great courage in making this picture (bombs were thrown at his house after it opened in India), which speaks with a voice that many will not wish to hear. ''Bombay'' recalls how forceful a motion picture can be."


Accolades


Bibliography

* *


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1990s Tamil-language films 1995 films 1995 romantic drama films Best Film on National Integration National Film Award winners Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Films about religious violence in India Films directed by Mani Ratnam Films scored by A. R. Rahman Films set in 1992 Films set in 1993 Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Kannur Films shot in Kerala Films shot in Madurai Films shot in Mumbai Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing National Award Indian interfaith romance films Indian romantic drama films