Salaam Bombay! (1988)

To me, this movie is perfection.

A Masterpiece!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The movie aptly portrays the harsh reality of slums of Mumbai and in itself is an act of bravery as it depicts the real India which we Indians knowingly ignore. 113 minutes of beautifully crafted drama through which you experience the life of characters through their eyes. This was my first Mira Nair movie and I must admit this by far was the best Indian movie i have ever watched. Nana Patekar who no doubt is one of the most talented actors gives at par performance as Baba(the pimp) and there are moments when you feel frustrated but sadly you slowly accept the situation and life of street kids, prostitutes and junkies who are trapped in vicious cycle and there is no escape. Movie is very different from the traditional Indian movies and a must watch for intense drama lovers.

The debut feature by Indian filmmaker Mira Nair is a near-seamless blend of social documentary and coming-of-age dramatics, with the uncompromising honesty of the former combined to all the creative emotion of the latter. In this case the end of innocence doesn't present an easy rite of passage for Nair's young protagonist: a resourceful, homeless adolescent forced to grow old before his time in the mean streets and back alleys of modern Bombay. Every scene was shot on location, and the children in the film are actual homeless kids, all of them coached into remarkably natural performances alongside the few professional actors. The result is an unsentimental look at the bitter cycle of poverty and crime in a city where life is given a rare vitality by its dubious worth. Within the community of thieves, junkies, prostitutes, and pimps is a measure of compassion equal to their misery, and Nair is able to convey the stubborn spark of hope clinging to even the most tragic victims of circumstance. Expect an honest ending, not a happy one.

The hype around Slumdog Millionaire--which I found only okay, made me want to see Salaam Bombay, again and see if it was the superior film about a similar milieu in India I remembered from decades ago. It isn't--it's better than I remember. I must have grown a higher tolerance for cinema verite and the heartaches of poor children than I had when I first saw this.Part of this might have been fostered by my recent enjoyment of a documentary of notable similarity to Salaam Bombay--Born into Brothels (also excellent.) What's more enjoyable than I had remembered is the rich colour and cinematography, the depth of character -- no throw-away stereotypes -- and the masterful depiction of place.DVD extras we watched so far were poignant, especially the one about the actor who played the main character, Shafiq Sayed, who didn't have an easy life even after the success of the film.

movie described the dark side of Indian urban society.A child have to work on roadside tea stall. he wanted to skip from all circumstances around him. Including try to save his drug addicted friend and save a girl from being prostitute . but can't even give himself a good life. Story starts with red light area and slum of mumbai and ends with it. this movie force to think us can we live like this ,can't we do something for those slum children who just started their life. director unleashed the other side of Bombay life, not even a single shot of rich Mumbai. finest directed movie ever I seen. this movie is better than "Slumdog millionaire".