Review of Salaam Bombay! (1988) by Martin D — 17 Jun 2007

Salaam Bombay is a compelling movie written in the late 1980's about runaway children who are homeless in the streets of Bombay (Mumbai) India.

The movie fascinatingly encompasses many layers of storytelling. The primary character is a 10 year old boy who was abandoned by his family and illustrates how he survives in the impoverished, polluted, filthy, and unsanitary conditions of a red light District.

The movie emcompasses realism in that many of the kids were real homeless orphans.

The ending of Krishna's despair and strength to overcome his tragedy is beautiful captured with the minimalist scene of him staring off into into his future, his eyes barely distinguished from the shadows of the darkness that stood before the horizons of his future, India's future.

Manju's character (the prostitute's daughter) is energetic, charming and filled with life. The one scene where her mother is servicing her client as she's imagining herself conversing on the phone with Krishna is as touching and poignant of a movie scene as I've seen anywhere.

The lighting, landscape photage of Bombay, the color, the music, and sounds are brilliantly mastered and intertwined.

And most importantly, fact and fiction are brilliantly married into one film.

A must watch.