Bombay (1995)

The film Bombay (1995) directed by Mani Ratnam follows two characters Mishra Narayan and Shaila Bano who are in love and want to marry. The only problem is that Shekhar is a Hindu and Shaila is a Muslim. But their is a big problem that is the center point around this film. In India the Muslim and Hindu faiths are not on good terms with each other both religions despise each other. because of this conflict the couple run away to get married in a place that is willing to accept their marriage, Bombay. On December 6, 1992 a couple years after their marriage they have two boys who are now in the middle of religious riots that were forming everywhere between the Muslim and Hindu religions, including Bombay. During the riots Shaila and Shekhar are fighting for the safety of their children as well as their loved ones back home.  

            The message that surrounds this story is a religious one.  It shows audiences how life was like back in the 1990s in India. The battle between these two beliefs opened audience’s eyes all over the world. A theme that was carried throughout the entire film was love. this film showed that love is such a strong bond and not even violence or threats can break it. 

            When I saw this film Bombay (1995) I was shocked on what I saw. This film depicted the hated relationship between the Hindu and the Muslims. There were several elements that I took noticed too when viewing this movie. First was the style. This was a Bollywood movie, which means that in several parts of the film the characters would break and go into a musical number. This type of style is very interesting. I have never seen it before and I felt that the musical scores were great and kept audiences like myself entertained. The next that I took liking too was the camera angles.  The musical scenes had some great shots, for example in several scenes the camera would glide over the actors, which gave a new perspective to audiences everywhere. Finally this last thing that I enjoy in this film was both the character development and the acting. For a film to be successful it must have both good acting and a believable storyline and I feel that this film executed that. I really enjoyed this movie and I would definitely recommend it.