‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has put Mumbai on the global celluloid map. But the sprawling metropolis has been the focus of numerous Bollywood movies for decades
In the theatre of Bollywood, cities are often like cruel, moody lovers; the sort you should stay away from, but cannot resist. Cities are sweaty; heartless by dna. And yet the metropolis holds infinite allure for those with ambition, muscle and the willingness to walk on either side of the law. In movies, Bambai, Bombay and Mumbai are all different versions of this quintessential city.
That's what Johny Walker crooned in CID (1956), romping the unfeeling streets of the western metropolis and singing Majrooh’s playfully perceptive, Ae dil hai mushqil jeena yahan, zara hat ke, zara bachke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan. Over the decades the basic instinct for survival continues to be the primary focus of filmmakers both at home and abroad, most recently typified in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire by the hero’s elder brother, Salim, and heroine Latika.
In Hindi films, Bombay isn’t just a location; it is a grand idea. It is a metaphor for infinite possibilities typified by the life of Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar (1975) and Ajay Devgan in Company (2002). It can be an asylum as Tabu underlined in Chandni Bar (2001). It can also be a mirage as the young couple from Punjab discover in K A Abbas’ Sheher Aur Sapna (1963).
At one level, the city is in a state of constant churn, changing dramatically in its community composition, social attitudes and political make-up. In its good, bad or indifferent way, Bollywood has tried to mirror these changes and map its mood.
The new-age gangsters of Satya (1998) and Is Raat ki Subah Nahin (1996) are meaner than the smugglers of Deewar. The urchins of Slumdog are more driven than their counterparts in Salaam Bombay (1988). Middle-class rage and angst (Dombivali Fast, 2005) has a sharper edge than the underclass anger of Ankush (1986). The young lovers of Life in a Metro (2007) are far more practical than their predecessors. And it wouldn’t have been possible to envisage Bombay (1995), Black Friday (2004) and Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008) even in the 1980s. Similarly, Kamal Rashid Khan’s crass Deshdrohi (2008) speaks in an angry migrant language that would have made no sense to the protagonist of Shree 420 (1955) played by Raj Kapoor. But then there was no Raj Thackeray’s MNS in those days.
The hero in Shree 420 too arrives in Bombay to make a career. When opportunity beckons he has to choose between two aptly-named women: Vidya (knowledge, played by Nargis) or Maya (illusion, played by Nadira). He initially opts for Maya; it is a rite of passage he must cross to emerge wiser, if not wealthier. Decades later, Shah Rukh Khan faces similar dilemmas in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992). And he too makes similar choices. But beyond the ethical debates, the better Bollywood movies have got under the skin of the metropolis. Watching movies like director Ravindra Dharmraj’s Chakra (1981) and Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi (1993) is like entering an alternative world with its own values, morals and truths.
Three other movies — Basu Chatterjee’s Piya Ka Ghar (1972), Sai Paranjpe’s Katha (1983) and Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya (1983) — are fascinating miniatures encapsulating a slice of the city’s life. Piya Ka Ghar explores the absence of space geographically as well as in relationships; not to forget waking up at 5 am to fill water in pans. Katha, essentially a morality tale, is about chawl life, its small yearnings and heartbreaks. Ardha Satya takes an inside look at the Mumbai cop world; again, the kind of choices an individual has to make.
FROM BAMBAI TO MUMBAI
What’s in a name? In case of Bambai, Bombay or Mumbai, pretty much everything. The changes in the city are also reflected in its shifting nomenclature. In the pre-independence era, the word Bambai was preferred over Bombay. In the early years of the talkies one comes across films such as Bambai ki Sethani (1935), Bambai Ki Billi (1936), Bambai Wali (1941). A movie like Bombay Calling (1942) is rare. In post independence Hindi cinema, while Bambai continued to be used off and on — Bambai Ka Babu (1960) for instance — Bombay became more common: Bombay Ki Billi (1960), Bombay Central (1960), Bombay Ka Chor (1962), Holiday in Bombay (1963), Bombay Race Course (1965), Bombay Town (1965), Bombay Raat Ki Bahon Mein (1969), Bombay Talkies (1971), Bombay to Goa (1972), Bombay by Night (1979), Bombay 405 Miles (1980), Bombay (1995) and Bombay Boys (1998). Now as the city has retreated to its past, it's Mission Mumbai (2004), Mumbai Cutting and Mumbai Meri Jaan (both 2008).
In the theatre of Bollywood, cities are often like cruel, moody lovers; the sort you should stay away from, but cannot resist. Cities are sweaty; heartless by dna. And yet the metropolis holds infinite allure for those with ambition, muscle and the willingness to walk on either side of the law. In movies, Bambai, Bombay and Mumbai are all different versions of this quintessential city.
That's what Johny Walker crooned in CID (1956), romping the unfeeling streets of the western metropolis and singing Majrooh’s playfully perceptive, Ae dil hai mushqil jeena yahan, zara hat ke, zara bachke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan. Over the decades the basic instinct for survival continues to be the primary focus of filmmakers both at home and abroad, most recently typified in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire by the hero’s elder brother, Salim, and heroine Latika.
In Hindi films, Bombay isn’t just a location; it is a grand idea. It is a metaphor for infinite possibilities typified by the life of Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar (1975) and Ajay Devgan in Company (2002). It can be an asylum as Tabu underlined in Chandni Bar (2001). It can also be a mirage as the young couple from Punjab discover in K A Abbas’ Sheher Aur Sapna (1963).
At one level, the city is in a state of constant churn, changing dramatically in its community composition, social attitudes and political make-up. In its good, bad or indifferent way, Bollywood has tried to mirror these changes and map its mood.
The new-age gangsters of Satya (1998) and Is Raat ki Subah Nahin (1996) are meaner than the smugglers of Deewar. The urchins of Slumdog are more driven than their counterparts in Salaam Bombay (1988). Middle-class rage and angst (Dombivali Fast, 2005) has a sharper edge than the underclass anger of Ankush (1986). The young lovers of Life in a Metro (2007) are far more practical than their predecessors. And it wouldn’t have been possible to envisage Bombay (1995), Black Friday (2004) and Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008) even in the 1980s. Similarly, Kamal Rashid Khan’s crass Deshdrohi (2008) speaks in an angry migrant language that would have made no sense to the protagonist of Shree 420 (1955) played by Raj Kapoor. But then there was no Raj Thackeray’s MNS in those days.
The hero in Shree 420 too arrives in Bombay to make a career. When opportunity beckons he has to choose between two aptly-named women: Vidya (knowledge, played by Nargis) or Maya (illusion, played by Nadira). He initially opts for Maya; it is a rite of passage he must cross to emerge wiser, if not wealthier. Decades later, Shah Rukh Khan faces similar dilemmas in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992). And he too makes similar choices. But beyond the ethical debates, the better Bollywood movies have got under the skin of the metropolis. Watching movies like director Ravindra Dharmraj’s Chakra (1981) and Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi (1993) is like entering an alternative world with its own values, morals and truths.
Three other movies — Basu Chatterjee’s Piya Ka Ghar (1972), Sai Paranjpe’s Katha (1983) and Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya (1983) — are fascinating miniatures encapsulating a slice of the city’s life. Piya Ka Ghar explores the absence of space geographically as well as in relationships; not to forget waking up at 5 am to fill water in pans. Katha, essentially a morality tale, is about chawl life, its small yearnings and heartbreaks. Ardha Satya takes an inside look at the Mumbai cop world; again, the kind of choices an individual has to make.
FROM BAMBAI TO MUMBAI
What’s in a name? In case of Bambai, Bombay or Mumbai, pretty much everything. The changes in the city are also reflected in its shifting nomenclature. In the pre-independence era, the word Bambai was preferred over Bombay. In the early years of the talkies one comes across films such as Bambai ki Sethani (1935), Bambai Ki Billi (1936), Bambai Wali (1941). A movie like Bombay Calling (1942) is rare. In post independence Hindi cinema, while Bambai continued to be used off and on — Bambai Ka Babu (1960) for instance — Bombay became more common: Bombay Ki Billi (1960), Bombay Central (1960), Bombay Ka Chor (1962), Holiday in Bombay (1963), Bombay Race Course (1965), Bombay Town (1965), Bombay Raat Ki Bahon Mein (1969), Bombay Talkies (1971), Bombay to Goa (1972), Bombay by Night (1979), Bombay 405 Miles (1980), Bombay (1995) and Bombay Boys (1998). Now as the city has retreated to its past, it's Mission Mumbai (2004), Mumbai Cutting and Mumbai Meri Jaan (both 2008).
1 comment:
u seem to be in love with Mumbai :)
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