Released in 1988, Salaam Bombay! was pivotal in turning the attention of the world to India’s underprivileged citizens – way before Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire came around in 2008. Fusing the gritty reality of a documentary with the emotional sentiments of a drama, director Mira Nair’s film is a fearless and heart-wrenching story of squalor and poverty. It centres on ten-year-old Krishna (Shafiq Syed), one of the nameless kids in Mumbai, who’s been left behind by his travelling circus. Resolved to earn enough money for the journey home, he stumbles upon love and friendship in his coming-of-age experience.
Why watch it
‘Before Slumdog Millionaire, there was Salaam Bombay!, and it was this film’s original take on India’s slums that piqued my interest; Nair’s chronicle of its occupants’ lives provide honest insight to one of India’s largest communities. Salaam Bombay! is a cinematic gem that blurs the lines between fiction and reality, as its child actors were enlisted off the streets of Mumbai and also received aid from a street children’s trust, set up by Nair and screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala after the film’s production.’
Why watch it
‘Before Slumdog Millionaire, there was Salaam Bombay!, and it was this film’s original take on India’s slums that piqued my interest; Nair’s chronicle of its occupants’ lives provide honest insight to one of India’s largest communities. Salaam Bombay! is a cinematic gem that blurs the lines between fiction and reality, as its child actors were enlisted off the streets of Mumbai and also received aid from a street children’s trust, set up by Nair and screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala after the film’s production.’