Bombay Talkies

Originally written on: 7th May 2013

They said it was a film that celebrated 100 years of Indian Cinema but in reality, it is a film celebrating the true fans of Indian Cinema, people like you and me.

Bombay Talkies is an anthology of 4 short films by 4 celebrated directors, Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hain), Dibakar Banerjee(Oye Lucky Lucky Oye), Zoya Akhtar (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) and Anurag Kashyap (Dev D). The reason I am mentioning films along with the directors for you to appreciate the diverse collection these four people can shell out. In case of BT, the film flows like a single story with four different touches.

You have Karan Johar, breaking out of his comfort family zone and venturing into a story that weaves around a modern marriage of convenience and career disrupted with the arrival of a homosexual man. The set up is stylish, the plot believable but the ending inconclusive. The melancholy ajeeb daastan hai ye, (sung by a beggar on a busy Mumbai station) adds a haunting melody to this story. Randeep Hooda, Rani Mukherjee and Saqib Saleem are perfectly cast.

Dibakar Banerjee’s  adaptation of a Satyajit Ray short story is heartwarming to say the least. Set in the lower middle class lanes of Mumbai, it introduces you to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, a failed actor struggling under the strain to make ends meet but above all bring a smile on his daughter’s face. As luck would have it, he strays into a film’s shoot and is asked to pose as a passerby. The story tugs at your heart and although it is full of laughs, by the time it ends, it will bring tears to your eyes. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, take a bow!

 When Zoya Akhtar starts her story, you flinch slightly in your seat. A young boy is refusing to play football and dreams of dressing up like Katrina Kaif, you wonder if the film will ponder over confused sexual identities but you are in for a surprise. The narration is warm with a very real brother-sister bond, parental pressure, peer pressure and in the end you can’t help but smile as you concede that dreams however small(or different) are to be cherished and when they come true… you indeed are the king (queen?) of the world!

Anurag Kashyap easily has the most filmy story under his belt. A fan’s (Vineet Kumar) zeal to have Amitabh Bachchan taste his Murabba on his father’s request. This film captures the essence of the true Bollywood fan who will  travel many rivers, endure many storms and shed many tears to meet his favorite star. A tad bit stretched, you can expect this story to either have a very happy or a very sad ending and just as you will reach for your tissues, Anurag Kashyap will surprise you!

The mood of the film is set by a beautiful background score by Amit Trivedi. *Applause*

I’d go on to describe the cinematography and editing but the soul of Bombay Talkies is the stories it tells.

The song at the end featuring all stars though… is a Mood Killer!