Bombay (1995)

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

Director:

Mani Ratnam

Writers:

Mani Ratnam (story/screenplay), Umesh Sharma (dialogue)

Stars:

Arvind Swamy, Manisha Koirala, Nassar

Top Rated Indian Movies #79 | 12 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arvind Swamy	...	Shekhar Narayanan Pillai
Manisha Koirala	...	Shaila Bano
Nassar	...	Shekhar's father (as Nazar)
Kitty	...	Basheer (Shaila Banu's father)
Master Harsha	...	Kabir Narayan
Master Hriday	...	Kamal Basheer
Tinnu Anand	...	Shakti Samaj Leader
Akash Khurana	...	Muslim leader
Nagendra Prasad	...	(as S. Nagendra Prasad)
Prakash Raj
Sonali Bendre	...	Dancer (Special Appearance)
M.V. Vasudeva Rao	...	(as Vasudeva Rao)
Ratnakar
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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

hindu | children | muslim | love | twin | 

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Tamil Hindi

Release Date:

10 March 1995 (India)

Also Known As:

Bombaim

Filming Locations:

Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rapper Horsepowar sampled the song "Kehna Hi Kya" for her song "Down Rodeo with a Shotgun"

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Goofs

The latter part of the film takes place during 1992, but in a scene set a few years earlier, Shekhar is wearing a Colorado Rockies shirt. The Rockies were established in 1993.

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Alternate Versions

There is a dubbed version of this movie in Hindi/Urdu, with Hindi/Urdu songs.

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Connections

Follows Roja (1992)

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Soundtracks

Uyire
(Hindi: "Tu Hi Re")
Sung by Hariharan and K.S. Chitra {Tamil}
Sung by Hariharan and Kavita Krishnamurthy {Hindi}
Composed by A.R. Rahman
Tamil lyrics by Vairamuthu
Hindi lyrics by Mehboob

User Reviews

Recommended

First having heard the music and later having eyewitness information from the 1993 riots in Mumbai from my wife (who was in her early teens at the time), I sat and watched this movie in my home on what happened to be India's 60th Independence Day anniversary. I must admit I was stunned and baffled and all that, especially from the magnificent depiction of an impossible love story. The riot scenes in the second half of the film are also quite moving, but the end of the film lacks some of the momentum found elsewhere.

Nevertheless, this is a movie worth watching, especially in the company of Indians, since it contains a lot of symbolism hardly understandable to "us" foreigners.