Original language title: “सलाम बॉम्बे!”
“Ma took me to the circus… and left me there. She said: ‘Don’t come back until you have ₹500 for your brother.’”
With the election of Zohran Mamdani as the next mayor of New York City, I was surprised to learn that he was the son of the notable Indian film director Mira Nair. Given this, I thought it was fitting to go back and review her debut feature, especially since it has been recently restored in 4K Ultra HD by the Criterion Collection, which will be coming out in December.
The plot follows a young boy named Krishna (played by Shafiq Syed) who was disowned by his mother after he set fire to his brother’s bike. He has to pay a debt of ₹500 Indian Rupees (approximately $69.50 USD with inflation), and is forced to work at a local circus. When they abandon him, he is forced to board a train to Bombay and begins working as a chai delivery boy in a red light district after being referred by the drug addict Chillum (played by Raghuvir Yadav).
Krishna also meets a young girl named Sola Saal (played by Chandra Sharma), who was recently sold into sexual slavery by her father at the age of 16. He tries to help both her and another prostitute named Rekha (played by Anita Kanwar) in their situation, but they will have to work hard to overcome their current circumstances.
Upon the movie’s premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, Nair won the Caméra d’Or award, the prize given to the best first feature shown at the festival. The film was also the country of India’s submission to the Academy Awards, and is only one of three Indian movies to receive a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, including the 2001 cricket sports drama “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India.”
The film also acts as an interesting time capsule, as it was released only seven years before the Indian Government officially changed the name of Bombay, now known as Mumbai.
The color throughout the film is also extremely vibrant and saturated. For being such a realistic and down to earth movie, the lush, vivid oranges and greens give several scenes a heightened sense of reality.
“Salaam Bombay!” has also been a source for academics to teach cinema to others, including the chair of the Performance, Production and Community department, Jeff Turner, who has previously taught this movie in his Introduction to Film Studies class.
“I have not taught this film in some time (like a long time), but I think I had a few goals. First, I wanted to introduce students to films made in non-Western sites of national production. Second, I wanted to talk about how the film draws upon or is influenced by Italian neorealism. Third, I wanted to introduce students to more films by female filmmakers. Finally, I was interested in exploring representations of childhood and youth in film, and this seemed like a good example to put into conversation with other films focused on childhood,” Turner said via email.
So if you are looking to get into Indian cinema, this movie is a fine place to start. My final rating for “Salaam Bombay!” is a lively 8/10.
