Hello and welcome,to yet another movie review. Our movie under discussion today is Salaam Bombay! There are only a handful of movies which can truly leave a lasting impression on us as the credits start to roll. In my honest opinion there are only two types of movies in the world- the kind that i just said and all the rest. I don't know about you, but once in a blue moon when i see a movie, it stirs me up. Like i said the movies we watch either leaves a lasting impression or becomes just another flick in our list,so that when your friend asks:
"Hey,have you seen that movie ?"
You reply : "Yeah. I have. Its...ok,...watchable."
As for the ones that catch you by your self-pretentious 'i have seen it all' attitude and pulls you down to the ground, well my dear friend,those are the ones you have to watch and watch out for. The sheer intensity of emotions in them are so powerful and unrelenting that they'll break through our self made armour of belief that we cant be affected by pictures on a screen. Salaam Bombay! is that kind of a movie. For me the high-point of the film were the last 60 seconds before the screen fades to black. I came to know about this movie through Quora. Salaam Bombay! was directed by Mira Nair and released in 1988. It is a movie which focuses on the lives of people living in a red light district area. The protagonist is boy who is called Chaipau (tea guy). His real name is Krishna. In retaliation to his brother's bullying Krishna burns a scooter that his brother was repairing (Krishna's brother is a mechanic). So his mother takes Krishna to a circus manger and leaves him to work there. She places a condition that Krishna can return home when he has earned 500 rupees( for the burned scooter). But one day while packing up the circus manger asks Krishna to go into town an get him 3 tins of pan masala. Upon returning Krishna finds that the circus had left without waiting for him. So he goes to the railway station and takes a ticket to the nearest city- Bombay. On reaching Bombay he soon finds work as the delivery boy for a tea shop......I think i have revealed enough of the story. One by one all our characters are introduced- Chillum, Baba, Sola Saal, Manju, and so on..... Each of them somehow or the other effects the life of Chaipau. The scene with Irfan Khan was also good. It somehow acts as a hint to the oncoming tragedy. After watching the movie i checked out Wikipedia and came to know that the child actors were all children from the streets of Bombay. It seems that they were given dramatic training at a special workshop.Special mention goes to the sound track.The music at the end credits is exceptional and has an optimistic tune to it. It is so good that i had to put it in a loop in VLC player, and i am currently listening to it while writing this. The movie is not abound in violence or gore nor does it appeal for our sympathy, and it doesn't rely on any plot twists or anti-climax. Perhaps the reason why i was able to connect with the movie was due to its simplicity and predictability,and of course that is the beauty of this particular piece of art. Now with absolute clarity and reassurance i can say that Slumdog Millionaire is by all means an overrated movie catering to the masses who expect nothing but a 'feel good' film.
I have one request and only one- Please,just watch the damn movie and you can thank me later!
