"Bombay" (1995)

Two star-crossed lovers divided by two feuding families. Sound familiar? Of course it does, as this standout Bollywood film demonstrates, formula works. Especially the archetypal "Romeo and Juliet forbidden love affair", as is implemented here along with the familiar "futility of religious violence" territory. But at least, in the case of Indian filmmaker Mani Ratman's award-winning 1995 feature "Bombay", they both work. Though drenched in Bollywood cheese and cliche, "Bombay" is a well-made, well-rounded flick.

When the film opens, we get the look and feel of somewhat of an older picture than one that was shot in '94/'95. The picture is slightly washed out and grainy, as if it had suffered from one or two generational losses, but I figured this may be attributed to the more destitute country in which it was made. We are introduced to our not exactly classically handsome protagonist Shekhar (played by Arvind Swamy), a journalist studying in Bombay, who is son to a hardcore Hindu, and, as we soon see, Hindu tradition is uncompromising and unforgiving. Our Shekhar stumbles upon a most comely young woman, Shaila Bano (played by the very attractive Manisha Koirala) who of course, happens to be on the other side of the religious fence; she is Muslim. And in India, unfortunately, Hindus and Muslims DO NOT get together. And so hard does Shekhar fall, and we watch the mustached, husky man chase little-miss-play-hard-to-get around. And interspersed here are your obligatory random Bollywood music/dance number, replete with bad lip synching, extras in garish, wild wardrobes and high pitched Indi women's vocals. These dances are shot in a classic low budget music video fashion, and the singing and lyrics simply serve to parallel the story and current situation.

Now we enter the central conflict, when Shekhar aims to marry Tamil (must be a love at first sight thing, as the two really don't even know each other) but both families will not have it. Tamil is set up to marry a Muslim man, of course her father will not have it any other way, and pushes to expedite this forced union. And Shekhar's father, well, he will pretty much disown him. So what do you do in this situation? Take off, of course. Shekhar decides to flee their little seaside village to the big city of Bombay (known today as Mumbai), much to the chagrin of both families. But this is no matter, as they are happy and madly in love and starting a new life. Though Shaila is a bit overwhelmed by the city, she quickly adapts, and the two tie the knot. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby (or in their case, babies) in the baby carriage. The lovers twin boys are raised neutral, as both Muslim and Hindu. Shakhar and Tamil just have no idea just how complicated these two opposing Indian dogmas will soon pose for them.

The film's third act centers around actual events that occurred in Bombay from late 1992 into early '93. Our new family, after years of having settled down in their nice new apartment, with Shekhar continuing work as a journalist and Shaila at home raising the kids, now find themselves in the heat of religious extremism. Religious riots break out in Bombay, leaving hundreds of Hindus and Muslims dead. How utterly inane; civil war amongst the same people, with dead men, women, and children left in its wake. And now our loving, handsome young couple's livelihood is in jeopardy, a target of violence from both sides, and the safety of their two young boys is promptly at stake. The film takes quite a turn here, going from a relatively quiet love story, to dramatic chaos and violence. It is this latter half of the film that makes it border on epic; hundreds of extras in turmoil amongst the grimy Bombay streets. Gritty and realistic, well choreographed, convincing riots abound; mosques are set ablaze, people are beaten, trampled over, burned alive, and to add to the horror, Shekhar and Shaila's boys get swept into it all and wind up separated, not only from their mother and father, but from themselves. And it is all very dramatic, as the wildly distressed couple bravely venture out into the rioting streets to locate their separation-anxiety-ridden children, all the while not knowing if they are alive or dead.

It's the film's depiction of such inter-religious relations and religious riots that make it a much more significant film than what we expect from the outset. Ratman is criticizing and focusing blame on the very manipulative Indian government, who seems to be responsible for influencing such hatred between the Hindus and Muslims for their own greedy causes. This is evident in a final scene, where a hysterical, angry and despondent Shekhar throws himself in the midst of a group of rioters, aghast at the death and destruction they have yeilded, and ironically pleads with them to burn him alive. Shekhar subsequently rants and raves about the stupidity and futility of people of the same race and country fighting against each other, and how they've all been brainwashed by the government. "Politicians are taking advantage of you to serve their seats of power!", he shouts. It is a powerful scene, and very well acted by Swamy. Of course Shekhar and Shaila find their boys, and all is well in the end. The message here, of unity and hope, and for all to coexist in peace and harmony with one another no matter what religion, is pretty universal.

The film apparently enjoyed great success shortly after its release, and that does not surprise me, considering the overall quality and scale of the work, particularly in it's second half portrayal of the infamous Bombay riots. The film gradually moved away from the Bollywood romance cheese territory that had me smirking in amusement during its initial half hour, and I was subsequently impressed by the overall scale and quality of the production during its eventful third act. My only complaint was that, after a point, the high drama and musical-number moralizing pushed the film's message maybe once too many, and I quickly grew bored and wished for the film to start heading to a close. Overall though, I must say that "Bombay" is a fine gem of Indian cinema, and is definitely worth a look for any Bollywood fan or foreign film fan in general.