Salaam Bombay! (1988)

The boy Krishna is abandoned by his mother at the Apollo Circus and she tells him that he can only return home when he can afford 500 rupees to pay for the bicycle of his brother that he ... See full summary »

Director:

Mira Nair

Writers:

Hriday Lani (dialogue), Mira Nair (story),

Stars:

Shafiq Syed, Hansa Vithal, Chanda Sharma

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shafiq Syed	...	Krishna / Chaipau
Hansa Vithal	...	Manju Golub
Chanda Sharma	...	Sola Saal
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Chillum (as Raghubir Yadav)
Anita Kanwar	...	Rekha Golub (as Aneeta Kanwar)
Nana Patekar	...	Baba Golub
Anjaan	...	Child at the circus
Amrit Patel	...	Circus Boss
Murari Sharma	...	Ticket Seller
Ram Moorti	...	Mad Man
Sarfuddin Qureshi	...	Koyla (as Sarfuddin Quarassi)
Raju Barnad	...	Keera
Irshad Hashmi	...	Chacha
Mohanraj Babu	...	Salim
Chandrashekhar Naidu	...	Chungal

Storyline

The boy Krishna is abandoned by his mother at the Apollo Circus and she tells him that he can only return home when he can afford 500 rupees to pay for the bicycle of his brother that he had trashed. Krishna is left behind by the circus and he takes a train to Bombay. Krishna is called Chaipau by the street children of Bombay and he works delivering and selling tea for Chacha, who owns a street bar. Krishna befriends the heroin addicted Chillum that sells drugs for the drug dealer and caftan Baba Golub, and the girl Manju Golub, who is the daughter of Baba with the prostitute Rekha Golub. Krishna dreams on saving 500 rupees to return home, but the life on the streets of Bombay is not easy.

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Plot Keywords:

job | tea | street | drugs | prostitute | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK India France

Language:

Hindi English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Salaam Bombay

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Gross:

$2,080,046 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cadrage, Channel Four Films, Doordarshan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Raghuvir Yadav actually is tickling Shafiq Syed, who didn't expect it, and his laughter is genuine.

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Goofs

Krishna starts off with eight glasses of tea. One glass is broken by Sweet Sixteen when he offers her a drink. He is then seen walking back to the tea stand with eight full glasses, but when he gets back he has seven empty glasses.

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Quotes

Rekha Golub: [To Baba] Just like a customer.

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Crazy Credits

Ending credits: no guts no glory 52 locations 52 days what problem? no problem

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 1988 (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Daar Laga Ley"
(uncredited)
Written by Sachin Dev Burman

User Reviews

Moving Work

Writer/Director Mira Nair presents the tribulations of life on the streets of Bombay, India through the eyes of a young, homeless boy. His arduous story is captured in spectacular cinematography by Nair, whose use of heavy tones and color combined with intriguing camera angels lend to the film's melancholic nature. Not a commercial blockbuster in the United States, this is moving piece of work that deserves every bit of the critical claim it received. A film that stays with you long after viewing!