Bombay (1995)

Bombay is an Indian musical-romance-drama released in 1995 and directed by Mani Ratnam. The story revolves around the shunned romance between Shekhar, an Indian man, and Shaila, a Muslim woman. Their love is deeply opposed from their respective fathers who take great pride in their religion and see their union as an insult to the faith and the family. The pressures and threats of disownments take their toll, and Shekhar leaves his father’s home to return back to the city of Bombay and his journalism studies. In time, Shaila leaves her family to join him and the two marry against their parent’s wishes. Meanwhile, religious tensions are brewing between Indians and Muslims in the early 90s (1992-1993), resulting in bloody riots. When the couple has twin sons, the patriarchal fathers visit their now comfortable children in order to mend the relationship and meet their grandchildren. The strain between the fathers is lessened by the presence of their grandchildren, but it’s still strong concerning which religion is the proper one. In addition, a struggle ensues over which religion the children will follow --- Hinduism or Islam. The fragile peace between the families is interrupted by a riot that rocks Bombay and threatens to destroy the family Shekhar and Shaila have created.

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Bombay preaches religious tolerance with its almost Romeo and Juliet-like romance between feuding families. On a smaller scale, Shekhar and Shaila’s families are hostile towards one another for their embracing of separate religions. On a large scale, men are killing each other in the streets in the name of religion. For Shekhar and Shaila, all they see is love for one another. For their parents and the rioters in the street, religious devotion has blinded them. The concept of brotherhood has eluded them because of something as superficial as a philosophy. When the father of Shaila comes to the rescue of Shekhar’s father and his grandchildren after they are surrounded by enraged Muslims, that marks a significant moment in the film. Shaila’s father calls Shekhar’s father a ‘brother,’ and in front of the children no less. This final coming together of the fathers is remarkable, but not representative of the overall relationship between Indians and Muslims. Their rage leads to the riot that inadvertently causes the deaths of Shekhar and Shaila’s parents in an explosion and separates the twins from their parents. The chaos of the final segments of the film serve to show the carnage of religious intolerance; an increase the peace message. The example to be followed lies in Shekhar and Shaila’s interfaith union. The idea for one twin to believe in Hinduism and the other Islam addresses a co-existence that Shekhar cries for amidst the turmoil of the riots. The reunion of the twins with their parents is the prize for the family’s embracing of tolerance in a place where intolerance is so easy to come to. This is a film about love.

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Bombay was the one musical we watched this semester, but thankfully, the movie was primarily a traditional drama film with a social issue on its mind. As far as my tolerance for musicals go, Bombay was mostly entertaining with its musical numbers. There were times where I was so interested in the actual plot, that a break to sing and dance just frustrated me. I did enjoy a lot of the numbers though; the high energy ones especially. It might be my first time watching a Bollywood-type film in its entirety, but all the beats that I expected were pretty much there. More than Shekhar and Shaila’s romance, I found the relationship between their fathers much more interesting to watch. At first I was touched by the way both fathers caved and visited their children. I was amused by their petty fights and their obvious attempts to convert the grandchildren. As religious tensions reached critical mass, I was really struck by the way Shaila’s father stood up to defend Shekhar’s father and the children. Had he not done so, they would have surely been killed. The strength of a grandfather’s love and realization of brotherhood between the fathers was one of, if not the most, poignant moments of the film for me. The film surprised me in the way it got progressively better as it went on; by the end I was a definite fan. A lot of color, great costumes, and a very human story make Bombay a fun and still provocative tale.