Bombay (1995)
"Bumbai" (original title)

A Hindu man and a Muslim woman fall in love in a small village and move to Mumbai, where the have two children. However, growing religious tensions and erupting riots threaten to tear the family apart.

Director:

Mani Ratnam

Writers:

Mani Ratnam (screenplay), Mani Ratnam (story),

Stars:

Arvind Swamy, Manisha Koirala, Tinnu Anand

9 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arvind Swamy	...	Shekhar Mishra Narayan
Manisha Koirala	...	Shaila Bano
Tinnu Anand	...	Shakti Samaj Leader
Akash Khurana
Nasser	...	Shekhar's father (as Nazar)
Kitty
Master Harsha
Master Hriday
Sonali Bendre
Nagendra Prasad	...	(as S. Nagendra Prasad)
Ratnakar
Prakash Raj
M.V. Vasudeva Rao	...	(as Vasudeva Rao)
Rallapalli	...	(as Raallapalli)
Deesh Mariwala

Storyline

Based on true incidents, a south Indian Hindu man falls in love with a Muslim woman--taboo in the small village from which they hail. They marry against family wishes and move to Mumbai, where he works as a reporter for a large daily newspaper. Eventually, the couple has twin boys. The rest of the film is set during the December 1992-January 1993 period when the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid controversy raised religious tension in Mumbai and other parts of India, which sparked rioting and violence. The couple is separated from their children, and the fathers of both parents are killed when their home is burned by rioters. A reporter is shown interviewing politicians from both factions as well as the police. An underlying moral of thinking of oneself as an Indian rather than a Hindu or a Muslim is prevalent throughout the latter part of the film. The family is finally reunited after much searching through hospitals, morgues, and shelters. But the violence has left indelible impressions ...

---

Plot Keywords:

hindu | muslim | twins | hijra | controversial | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

---

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Tamil Hindi Telugu

Release Date:

25 July 1998 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Bombay

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (A.B.C.L.), Jhamu Sughand Productions, Madras Talkies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cameraman Rajiv Menon was offered the lead role by Mani Ratnam, but he turned it down.

---

Connections

Referenced in Ye Maaya Chesave (2010)

---

Soundtracks

"Kannalanae"
(Hindi: "Kehna Hi Kya")
Sung by K.S. Chitra, A.R. Rahman and Chorus
Composed by A.R. Rahman
Tamil lyrics by Vairamuthu
Hindi lyrics by Mehboob

User Reviews

Strong Strong Strong, a wonderful movie...

Begins like a silly Indian love/dance movie and develops into the strongest, most emotional movie I have ever seen. I saw it in the Gothenburg film festival and I saw couples holding each other after the film finished (comforting each other) and a guy asked: " Do they have a crisis center set up to help us deal with the movie now?". Religious tensions and human conflicts is a hard subject (doing the right vs the wrong thing), wonderfully dealt with in this movie. A strong argument for peace and a colorful tale of recent Indian history. See it.