Bombay
Director: Mani Ratnam
Music: AR Rahman; Lyrics: Mehboob
Year: 1995
Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
A small wisp of wind comes off of the water
and gently lifts the black veil above her face for a second that seems
to last for an eternity. In that moment a love is unleashed and lives are
changed forever. Above storm clouds are gathering with rumbles of thunder
slowly rolling in. In the distance the fishermen in low slender boats are
quickly pulling them to shore before the rain comes hurtling down. So begins
this poetic and devastating film that explores a love that crosses religious
lines and the religious hatred that attempts to destroy their world. Effectively
shown through the personal story of two small lives, this is a powerful
indictment of the intolerance that religion can breed. South Indian director
Mani Ratnam initially creates a near fairy tale love story, but in the
background we can hear the constant ominous beat of religious discord that
will eventually engulf this family and tear apart their lives. Still amid
the insanity, the violence and the blinding hatred Ratnam allows a speck
of generosity, human spirit and courage to crawl out from the darkness
and give us all hope.
Much shorter than the typical running time of
an Indian film, Bombay spends no time on multiple subplots or comic farce
but instead focuses almost entirely upon the two main characters. This
is clearly an artistic decision on the part of Ratnam – to show how isolated
they become due to their choice. Their love for one another is so intense
and yet so forbidden that in a sense they have to block out everything
and everyone else and create a family and world of their own that is shorn
of its extended family ties. In a culture where the family plays such an
important part of their lives, there is no doubt that this causes them
great pain but once they have chosen love over family and tradition there
is no turning back, no second guessing, no compromises. All that matters
is going forward with their lives and Ratnam follows them like a shadow
from that first glance through the horror that springs out like a tethered
demon.
Shekhar (Avind Swamy) returns after two years
of study in Bombay to visit his family in their small village. It is clear
that his relationship with his strict Hindu father (Nasar) is uneasy, but
he promises his father that he will only marry a village girl and not someone
from Bombay. He soon witnesses the wind blown veil of Bano (Manisha Koirala)
and falls under her tender spell. Bano comes from a religious Muslim family
and Shekhar’s friend tries to warn him that even looking at the girl could
get him killed. Even so he feels a need to follow her and talk to her –
even to the point of wearing a veil so that he can talk to her in disguise.
When he makes his desire to marry her known to the families, both fathers
come to near violence against Shekhar and against one another.
Shekhar returns to Bombay but can’t forget Bano
and writes to ask her to come to Bombay where they will get married. She
breaks from her family and runs off to Bombay where they immediately get
married and move into a small apartment. Years pass, their happiness grows,
children come but their families do not. Then the horror begins and Bombay
is ablaze with insanity and murder and destruction. The family is caught
in the middle of it all and no place is safe. The only part that mars this
film is the very ending where no doubt Ratnam was attempting to send his
audience a message of unity, but it feels more like a “We are the World”
video that rings false.
When Bombay was made in 1995 it immediately ran
into a hail of protests and controversy as elements of both the Hindu and
Muslim communities were upset with how they were depicted during the rioting.
The riots in the film are based on a historical incident that began in
1992 when Hindus attacked a mosque in Ayodhya and soon after horrific communal
riots broke out in Bombay that caused thousands of deaths. Ratnam attempts
to keep an even balance as he portrays both religions as being at fault
and both committing terrible atrocities. He even has some Muslim cast members
playing Hindu’s and vice versa, but he still received numerous death threats
and was forced to edit the film by the board of censors. Nevertheless this
Tamil film was a huge box office success and was dubbed into Hindi for
a nationwide release. This also gave a huge shot in the arm to Manisha’s
career and she was to star in Ratnam’s follow up, Dil Se.
The music from A.R. Rahman is a bit of a mix in
this film. There are six songs of which three are very good and the other
three seem quite average. As it turns out, the three terrific songs are
also the first three songs. The highlight is Kehna Hi Kya that takes place
at a wedding ceremony in which Shekhar sees Bano for the second time and
he watches her dance in awe struck love. There is also a lovely soft balled,
Tu Hi Re that is a duet of awakening feelings between the two as they begin
to express their feelings to one another. After Shekhar and Bano are married
circumstances force them to postpone their wedding night for three days,
but in a torrid number (Hamma Hamma) they finally consummate their marriage
as Sonali Bendre (in a guest appearance) dances up a storm outside of their
residence while they do so inside.
My rating for this film: 8.0
Song
1
Song
2