Bombay (1995)

The Age of Commercialism

Simply Perfect

Let's be realistic.

Best movie ever!

it makes me sad to see that so many people were so easily impressed by this film. this film is a totally wasted opportunity, the makers had a chance to say something, but completely blew it, yet still managed to fool many people into thinking it actually had a message....the first TWO THIRDS of the film is basically romeo & juliet - a formula that has been DONE TO DEATH in Indian films since time immemorial. the same old, tired, clichéd 'Muslim boy loves hindu girl and their family won't accept it' storyline, which basically writes itself and in this case, allowed the writers to write perhaps a page of storyline that lasted about an hour and a half of screen time... we go through all the clichés, the argument between fathers, the lovers eloping, the children being born, the silly syrupy fun and games with the kids, the parents returning and everyone forgiving each other.... i've seen this exact same film HUNDREDS of times before....finally, after what seems like an eternity of stupid, cookie-cutter bollywood formula, a weak storyline emerges about the hindu-Muslim riots in bombay in the early 90s... it makes a few points, but doesn't do nearly enough to address the reasons behind it or make statements about the stupidity of religion and how it poisons everything... it would have been great to see the grandparents survive and tell each other that it was attitudes like theirs that led to the riots and deaths of so many innocents, but no, instead, the kids had to get lost and we had to worry about them instead....this film cheats the audience in so many ways that it's CRIMINAL. instead of commentary about religion, we get an overdone love story. instead of addressing the violence of religious people, we get two lost children. instead of addressing the issues in mixed-religion families, we get songs about having a baby girl.... with a precious few exceptions, this film is a totally wasted opportunity, avoid it!for a MUCH BETTER look at these riots, a much better story and for an actual discussion of the issues involved, see mahesh bhatt's superb 'zakhm' (1998), it's everything this movie should have been, and a lot more!

It is hard to make a good movie despite having a good story. For there are chances of making mistakes in the script or cinematography or music or direction.But Maniratnam has made a movie with no mistakes to find in it! Real magic! He did not make it that perfect even in'Thalapathi' or 'Roja' or even 'Nayagan'. Suitable music ,neat portrayal, nice story and over all a great movie!A perfect 10 to say.This deserved to win a national award, though it was not given. But still,it is the bestTamilfilm i had ever seen.Also it should have been a very big hit for its good content. A must see for all. The best from Maniratnam.I had watched it 5 times.

Everyone said the right good words about this movie. I would only like to add that although the storyline is good, and the message is excellent, the hand-holding at the end is as beautiful as it is (sadly) unbelievable, and A.R. Rahman's music is fabulous -- the choreography was a disappointment. I actually rented this movie to see the dancing to Kehna Hi Kya, which is an all time favorite of mine. With Chitra singing the whole time this would have been a perfect opportunity for Manisha Koirala to show off. But, she doesn't even seem to get he lips synchronized with the lyrics, and the camera-operator seems to dance around more than she does, so I was disappointed. The same goes for the other music&dance scenes in this movie. I'm a great fan of Rahman's but the choreography has spoiled it for me.I really enjoy good Hindi movies, and music and dance is part of a good Hindi film. That's just the way it is and I don't want it any different. There are only few movies where everything fits: story, cinematography, acting, music and dancing. Nothing has yet topped Lagaan in that regard. Bombay is a great movie, but not perfect.

This movie is often compared to Spielberg's "Schindler's List", as the one and only movie which actually works in this context and how Spielberg could have made it to express his strong pathetic and political emotions. What a shame that "Bombay" haven't got such a big audience.The true life epos tells us the story of the Muslim-Hindu conflict 1995 in Bombay from the viewpoint of a young Muslim-Hindu couple doomed to leave their home town and families. This movie was made in the south, in Madras, shortly after the riots, and was immediately synchronized in Bombay to Hindi for the big audience. During the next three hours (the typical hindi movie length) everything works out fine, until the last thirty minutes where the Bombay riots suddenly break up everything. Mani Ratnam is the one and only director how dares to bring a song (every Hindi movie is a musical) during the very realistic war scenes, where such a scene actually works. Scenes where you are immediately reminded to how you would have shaken your head or laughed if this was just "Schindler's List". Imagine the jews singing in the last 30 minutes. Or the Trier train dance scene (for which you have to see "Dil Se") cut to the end. Not so here. They sing about the cruelty of war. Stop fighting. Crying, laughing, singing, dying, very close together. Where Trier sinks into unbelievable and childish anti-dead sentence pathos, Ratnam is still with the people, full of positive power. Incredible. A must see from one of the most important directors world-wide.