Bombay is the story of how a common man gets affected by the riots which
broke out in Bombay during December '92-January '93.Bombay stars
Arvind Swamy (of Roja fame), Manisha Koirala, Tinnu Anand, Nasser and
Kittu. Music is by A.R.Rahman, sets by Thota Tharani, cinematography by Rajiv
Menon and directed by Mani Ratnam. It has proved itself to be THE most awaited
for film in recent times. What with all its controversies.
The story starts off innocently enough with Arvind returning to his village in
Nellai district, Tamil Nadu where he sees Manisha, who is a Muslim living in
the same place. Its love at first sight for both though the fact that he is a
Hindu and she is a Muslim haunts them for quite some time. Tensions between the
two families run high but Arvind is undeterred and he goes to Bombay and asks
Manisha to join him there where they register their marriage. Life goes on
pretty smoothly and they have twins (the twins have given an excellent
performance).
Then the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya and the riots that follow
give them an indication of what to expect. Meanwhile both parents forgive their
wards and join them in Bombay. During the riots, the kids are narrowly saved
from the rioteers but the questions of why they were caught and what religion
they are of haunt them. Hell breaks loose during the January riots and Arvind,
as the journalist interviews the Hindu and Muslim groups leaders (Bal
Thackeray is played by Tinnu Anand and looks quite a bit like Bal) who blame
each other. But the persons who suffer are the common people. The kids get
separated from Arvind and Manisha and Arvind's father and Manisha's parents die
of a blast following from the torching of the house.
Then follows a search for the kids in all places, including the morgue (similar
to Roja). In fact the 2 kids also get separated from each other, one ends up
with a eunuch and the other with another Muslim family. They pine for each
other but by the time the dust settles, they find each other. Ironically, their
adopted houses were just opposite each other. Then the kids manage to locate their
parents too. And in the end, "All's well that ends well".
The main highlights of this movie are superb sets by Thota Tharani which
recreate the Bombay of those fateful days excellently, Rajiv Menon's
cinematography, Good acting by all involved (kudos to the 2 kids especially!),
a haunting score by A.R.Rahman (especially the theme song and "Uyire" while
"Hamma" is a chartbuster !) and of course the brilliance of Mani Ratnam.
Mani Ratnam had real problems passing this film through the censor board,
firstly because of the violence and also because of the communal element. After
he was successful in getting it through, Bal Thackeray intervened and forced
him to make cuts in the film if he wanted the film to be shown in Bombay. Well
he was unhappy with the his portrayal in the film as well as indications that
he started all the riots. Ultimately, Mani Ratnam had to agree to several cuts,
which sort of make the edited version look jerky. Then there was a fresh
controversy when the Muslim leaders demanded cuts of their own since the
Muslims were shown to be the cause of the riots. But the Maharashtra Govt
(SS-BJP) dismissed the claim and right now, Bombay is running to packed
houses everywhere in India and abroad.
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