This film is probably one of the most known film of Mani Ratnam. It is the second film in the so-called terrorism trilogy consisting of Roja, Bombay and Dil Se. As far as I know, this film is known to me by some of its classic scenes and how it is used in some of the other films. The most recent in Tollywood is the Subramayam For Sale's Adah Sharma and Mast Ali track which directly uses the Bombay track. Also, the songs of the film by A.R. Rahman are always in my playlist. Also, this is the second film I am watching Mani Ratnam make based on Mumbai and this time it is a based on a real-life event i.e., Demolition of Babri Masjid. I watched this film today and after a powercut break, I finished it now. How is the film? Let's find out.
Bombay is a 1995 romantic drama starring Arvind Swamy, Manisha Koirala in the lead roles directed by Mani Ratnam. The story revolves around Shekhar Pillai and Shaila Bhanu, seperated by religion but together by love. Their real test actually arrives after their marriage when Mumbai breaks out after the demolition of Babri Masjid. The events thereafter complete the story.
The screenplay of the film is superb. The film begins with the introduction of hero and heroine. Then, it clearly establishes their families and traditions. This time around the songs of the film take centerstage in driving the film's story forward. Unlike Nayakudu, the songs in the film carry forward the film instead of blocking the film. The first half and the 1/2 hour after that is essentially a very sincere love story which is very good. It also hints the over-arching theme of the film i.e., national integrity. But, even if it goes really well, it is kind of bland(a little). But, the last hour of the film really gives the film its strength. A sincere love story suddenly turns into an intense thriller. Luckily, the tonal shift is natural. It also gives a very sad end to some of the best father characters of all time. The ending of the film after such intense scenes is uplifting, motivational and gave me goosebumps. But, in between these intense scenes, a song was put which felt out of place for me and could have been omitted. Overall, I consider Roja to be a better film on National Integrity than Bombay because of the slightly bland first half in comparison and some smaller issues. (This is in comparison with gold standard of Mani Ratnam films. This is a must watch recommendation though.)
The acting of the film is excellent. This is the second collaboration of Arvind Swami with Mani Ratnam after their successful venture Roja. In this film too, he gives a mesmerising performance. His dialogue delivery proves solid when we see him deliver some powerful dialogue towards the end. His natural smile and sincere expressions make the first half of the film worth our time. When I think of Manisha Koirala, I never get an image of a Muslim Girl. But, in this film she proves me wrong as she fits into the role seamlessly. As ever, her expressions are cute and melt boys. But, when some demanding stuff comes around, she gives a powerful performance as mother's love is perfectly shown by her. The fathers of the leads, Nassar and Kitty act really well. They are my favourite characters in this film and the constant bickering they have between each other is very natural. Watch out for the scene where one makes the other escape the riots. Some real emotional stuff. Popular Telugu artist Rallapalli plays a transgender in the film with ease and perfection. With this role, the director and the actors show that they ahead of everybody by showing some brutal truth. In smaller roles, Tinnu Anand and Prakash Raj are true legends today because they justify these roles with their performance.
The technical aspects of the film are excellent. Let us put the obvious ones out of the way. I am a die hard fan of A.R. Rahman. His knowledge of Sufi really helps the movie as the songs have a unique touch which nobody can repeat. I like 4 of the 6 songs in the album. It is my opinion though. As the songs get a huge responsibility to drive the film with it, the songs get deeper meaning, soulful singing and melodious music. This album in particular is one of those rare albums where even its instrumentals got audience moving. Legendary stuff. The cinematography of the movie is brilliant. It shows me the riots of Mumbai neatly as in it does not confuse me. Also, the beautiful sceneries in the film are captured superbly. Talking about sceneries, the locations of the film are aptly chosen as they are beautiful. The editing in the film is smooth and runs with moderate speed. Maybe, the placement of the song "Kuchi Kuchi Konnamma" should have been changed as it definitely blocked the intensity of the last hour.
Overall, this film isn't the best of Mani Ratnam but that does not mean that is not good.It is surely better than Nayakudu for me. It is a must watch as it's strong message of national integration is still relevant and the love story in the film although slightly bland, works because of the strong performances by the two leads. You should not miss the last hour of the film and the songs which you have probably heard a lot of times. This is purely my opinion. Feel free to post your opinion in the comments section. Follow my blog for more such reviews.
The screenplay of the film is superb. The film begins with the introduction of hero and heroine. Then, it clearly establishes their families and traditions. This time around the songs of the film take centerstage in driving the film's story forward. Unlike Nayakudu, the songs in the film carry forward the film instead of blocking the film. The first half and the 1/2 hour after that is essentially a very sincere love story which is very good. It also hints the over-arching theme of the film i.e., national integrity. But, even if it goes really well, it is kind of bland(a little). But, the last hour of the film really gives the film its strength. A sincere love story suddenly turns into an intense thriller. Luckily, the tonal shift is natural. It also gives a very sad end to some of the best father characters of all time. The ending of the film after such intense scenes is uplifting, motivational and gave me goosebumps. But, in between these intense scenes, a song was put which felt out of place for me and could have been omitted. Overall, I consider Roja to be a better film on National Integrity than Bombay because of the slightly bland first half in comparison and some smaller issues. (This is in comparison with gold standard of Mani Ratnam films. This is a must watch recommendation though.)
The acting of the film is excellent. This is the second collaboration of Arvind Swami with Mani Ratnam after their successful venture Roja. In this film too, he gives a mesmerising performance. His dialogue delivery proves solid when we see him deliver some powerful dialogue towards the end. His natural smile and sincere expressions make the first half of the film worth our time. When I think of Manisha Koirala, I never get an image of a Muslim Girl. But, in this film she proves me wrong as she fits into the role seamlessly. As ever, her expressions are cute and melt boys. But, when some demanding stuff comes around, she gives a powerful performance as mother's love is perfectly shown by her. The fathers of the leads, Nassar and Kitty act really well. They are my favourite characters in this film and the constant bickering they have between each other is very natural. Watch out for the scene where one makes the other escape the riots. Some real emotional stuff. Popular Telugu artist Rallapalli plays a transgender in the film with ease and perfection. With this role, the director and the actors show that they ahead of everybody by showing some brutal truth. In smaller roles, Tinnu Anand and Prakash Raj are true legends today because they justify these roles with their performance.
The technical aspects of the film are excellent. Let us put the obvious ones out of the way. I am a die hard fan of A.R. Rahman. His knowledge of Sufi really helps the movie as the songs have a unique touch which nobody can repeat. I like 4 of the 6 songs in the album. It is my opinion though. As the songs get a huge responsibility to drive the film with it, the songs get deeper meaning, soulful singing and melodious music. This album in particular is one of those rare albums where even its instrumentals got audience moving. Legendary stuff. The cinematography of the movie is brilliant. It shows me the riots of Mumbai neatly as in it does not confuse me. Also, the beautiful sceneries in the film are captured superbly. Talking about sceneries, the locations of the film are aptly chosen as they are beautiful. The editing in the film is smooth and runs with moderate speed. Maybe, the placement of the song "Kuchi Kuchi Konnamma" should have been changed as it definitely blocked the intensity of the last hour.
Overall, this film isn't the best of Mani Ratnam but that does not mean that is not good.It is surely better than Nayakudu for me. It is a must watch as it's strong message of national integration is still relevant and the love story in the film although slightly bland, works because of the strong performances by the two leads. You should not miss the last hour of the film and the songs which you have probably heard a lot of times. This is purely my opinion. Feel free to post your opinion in the comments section. Follow my blog for more such reviews.
IMDb Rating : 8.1/10
My Rating : 9/10
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