(1988)
4
Josh Ralske
Mira Nair began her career working on documentaries, and she has put that experience to excellent use in all of her narrative work, beginning with her debut feature, Salaam Bombay!. Nair and cinematographer Sandi Sissel capture the flow of activity amid the destitute on Bombay's streets. The film is full of gorgeously colorful and powerful images, but its heart-rending story never romanticizes the squalor of these lives. Like all of Nair's films, Salaam Bombay! is full of well-drawn characters, and even the nominally minor characters have fully differentiated personalities. The use of nonprofessional actors enhances the feeling that these lives go on beyond the edges of the frame. And one gets the sense that the events portrayed in the film would be occurring even if Nair wasn't documenting them. The professional actors in the cast -- Nana Patekar, who plays the local crime kingpin Baba, and Raghubir Yadav, who plays the desperate Chillum -- deliver exceptionally rich performances. But it's Shafiq Syed, starring as Krishna, and Hansa Vithal, who plays little Manju, who give the film its heart and soul. These are surprisingly complex child characters. Manju, for example, appears to be guileless, but she, like the other children in the film, knows what she wants (Krishna's attention, for one thing), and is doggedly determined to get it. Despite its verisimilitude, Salaam Bombay! is not a documentary; it's a powerful and moving drama. The film deserves to be mentioned alongside Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados and Hector Babenco's Pixote as a subtly guided tour of shattered childhoods, and a condemnation of societal neglect. Only Nair's obvious compassion for all the film's characters sets it apart.
releases for Salaam Bombay! on AllMovie
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
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Release Date |
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Salaam Bombay! [Special Edition]
Arrow Film
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March 23, 2009 |
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Salaam Bombay!
Cinema Club
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June 16, 2003 |
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Salaam Bombay!
MGM
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March 4, 2003 |
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Salaam Bombay!
Film Four
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June 17, 2002 |