The Most Memorable Mani Movies - 8

Bombay (1995)

The most memorable and controversional Mani's movie...nobody dare to direct this kind of subject but Mani did. This movie was banned in Malaysia , Pakistan and Singapore upon release.

In January 1993 sectarian rioting left 2,000 Hindus and Muslims dead in Bombay. Only two years later Mani Ratnam's audacious Tamil film Bombay (1995) used these events as a backdrop to a love story between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl. Bombay was condemned by Muslim critics for misrepresentation and it was embroiled in censorship controversies. These served only to heighten interest and the film ran to packed houses in India and abroad.

A love story set in the turbulent times of the 1992 Bombay riots that followed the Babri Masjid controversy, this film was made especially poignant by the fact that the lovers involved are a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl.

The storyline of Bombay courted controversy as it was being made -- references to real-life events and political personalities are not viewed too kindly in Indian cinema. There were protests from religious leaders about scenes that offended communal sentiments, Manisha Koirala's Hyderabadi dialect in the Hindi version ensured that the film could not ever be released in Nizam territory, while distributors everywhere quaked in fear of impending protests by local interest groups.

Marred by an unrealistic ending and somewhat stereotypical characters, Bombay became a hit just by virtue of the controversy associated with it. The fact that Rajiv Menon's cinematography, AR Rahman's lilting tunes, Thotta Tharani's sets that recreated chawls in Bombay for the film on soundstages, Manisha Koirala and Arvind Swami's hard-hitting performances were above par makes the film worthy of a cine-goer's hosannas.

Awards
The film has won the following awards since its release:
1996 Political Film Society (USA)
Won - Special Award - Bombay - Mani Ratnam
1996 National Film Awards (India)
Won - Best Editing - Suresh Urs
Won - Nargis Dutt Award - Best Feature Film on National Integration - Bombay - Mani Ratnam
1995 Filmfare Awards (India)
Won - Best Film (Critics) - Bombay - Mani Ratnam
Won - Best Performer (Critics) - Manisha Koirala


Music
The soundtrack features score and 6 songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vairamuthu.

Track listing:
"Antha Arabi" (5:16) – A. R. Rahman, Remo Fernandez
"Poovukku Enna" (5:51) – Noel, Anupama,
"Uyire Uyire" (7:22) – Hariharan, Kavitha krishnamurthy
"Kuchi Kuchi" (5:09) – Hariharan, Swarnalatha
"Kannalanae" (5:57) – Chithra
"Bombay Theme" (5:16) – A. R. Rahman

The track "Bombay Theme" from the soundtrack is an instrumental orchestral piece composed, arranged and conducted by A. R. Rahman. It was recently featured in the soundtrack and score of the Nicholas Cage film Lord of War, released in 2005. It also featured in Volume 5 of the chill-out compilation Café del Mar, released in 1998.