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 & 7 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 Murthy	...	Mad Man (as Ram Moorti)
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:

red light district | lust | tea boy | street scene | ganesh | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Salaam Baalak Trust

Country:

UK India France

Language:

Hindi English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Salaam Bombay

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, India

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,080,046

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 At the Movies: The Best Films of 1988 (1988)

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Soundtracks

Where Do I Begin?
(uncredited)
Music by Francis Lai
Lyrics by Carl Sigman

User Reviews

A masterpiece.

The story of Chaipu, a youngster thrown on the streets of Bombay, and his struggle to keep it all together. Excellent performances all around. I especially liked Chanda Sharma as 'Solasaal' and Hansa Vithal as her daughter 'Manju'.

This film gives the creepy feeling you aren't watching actors but a movie made of people going about their daily life.

Even if you don't like the story the cinematography is stunning. Filmed on location in Bombay the movie gives an unvarnished glimpse of many places you'd be unlikely to visit on a vacation there.

The credits state 43 locations in 43 days.

I've seen this movie so many times I don't need to read the sub-titles anymore as I know the dialogue by heart.

A masterpiece. Easily one of the top 100 films of the last 50 years.