Bombay

Bombay, looked on as one of India's great cosmopolitan cities, became a flashpoint of religious violence at the end of 1992. The problem began far away on the other side of India in the town of Ayodhya. In 1992 Hindu extremists tore down the 16th-century Babri Mosque, claiming it had been the site of a sacred temple to the god Rama a millennium ago. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims throughout India flared as a result. In December 1992 a hard-line Hindu political party organized celebrations of the temple razing in Bombay. The provoked Muslims attacked, which in turn provoked a Hindu counterattack. Two months of rioting left over 900 dead. Charges have been raised ever since that political parties and police may have targeted Muslims for violence during the riots.

It is an unlikely subject for a Bollywood musical but this stain on India's history is the background to Mani Rathnam's Bombay (1995). The first half of the film barely hints at what is to follow. A high caste Hindu journalism student, Shekhar (Arvind Swamy), falls in love with a beautiful Muslim girl, Shehla (Manisha Koriala). In expected Romeo-and-Juliet style, their families do not take the news well. Shekhar's father forbids marriage while Shehla's father tries to arrange an emergency marriage to a Muslim. Singing lighthearted songs of their love, Shekhar and Shehla run off to Bombay and elope. Two children are born, raised by the happy couple to have no set religious identity.

Up to this point, it is the typical Bollywood story of divided lovers overcoming all obstacles. However, with the outbreak of riots, violence enters the couple's life with extreme savagery. Their mixed marriage and the children it produced become the center of the firestorm that threatens to destroy them at every turn.

Bombay was very controversial when it was released less than three years after the events. Perhaps as a result, it became a huge hit in the areas of India that spoke the Tamil language in which it was filmed. The movie's fame spread after director Mani Rathnam had it dubbed into Hindi. Some areas only received censored prints. Bombay itself only saw a butchered version after one of the political leaders involved in the riots, Bal Thackeray, demanded that all reference to himself as an instigator be removed. For Rathnam, however, there was a price to pay for the success. His home was threatened with firebombing. He had to turn his home into a guarded fort and, as recently as January 2003, Mumbai police reported that Rathnam was being threatened by a "Middle East-based underworld don" because of his connection to this film.

"The milder critics had accused me of trying to promote a kitsch communal harmony and the most vitriolic threatened to kill me for showing Hindu hard-liners inciting rioters. I had to tell these stories, through them I've responded as a filmmaker and a human being, and the same human being is repulsed by the violence."

"Violence is not a prerequisite for my cinema, I just told stories about violence because it is happening. Anyway, my films always look at violence as the backdrop of love, and I would much rather talk only of love, without the backdrop. I pray that there is peace and I promise to make wonderful films about peace."

Rathnam champions the use of songs in such a serious story: "Some say you can't be a serious filmmaker and still use songs and dance but they are our heritage as Indian filmmakers. We can't be ashamed of it." The songs for Bombay were written by A.R. Rahman, who also sings the movie's hit song "Hamma Hamma." He later went on to write the songs for the hit Indian movie Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) as well as the music for the London stage musical Bombay Dreams (2002).

Director: Mani Rathnam
Screenplay: Mani Rathnam
Cinematography: Rajiv Menon
Film Editing: Suresh Urs
Music: A.R. Rahman
Cast: Arvind Swamy (Shekhar), Manisha Koirala (Shehla Bano), Nasar (Shekhar's Father), Tinnu Anand (Shakti Samaj Leader), Sonali Bendre (Dancer).
C-135m. Letterboxed.

by Brian Cady