Salaam Bombay! (1988)

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The story revolves around a boy named Krishna who was abandoned by her mother and swears to return when he gathered Rs 500 for his brother's bicycle which he trashed. He visit Bombay and worked as a tea servant and he known as Chai pau in his circle.Watching 80's 90's movie in this era is a bliss and we can't even compare the cinema which have made in those era which remain a golden era for Bollywood with movies like DDLJ, Andaz Apna Apna, Angoor to name few. This was on my list since 1 year and never got time to watch it.Every applaud, every award is small for a movie like this. It shows the darkest side of Mumbai in a most perfect way and the performances made it a brilliant watch altogether. The cinematography is so impressive that you actually feel the movie while watching. It is a very brave attempt for the director and writer to show such dark and witty side of the city.No one can ever imagine that the child character (Krishna) played by Shafiq Syed was his debut movie. His expressions are so real with full of emotions that it will keep you hooked with the film soul. Nana Patekar and Irfan Khan (Cameo) are a compelling watch as well. Some of the child in the movie are actual street children who has been given special training to prepare for the roles. The movie was a second nomination for an Oscar after Mother India in a best foreign film category.Salaam Bombay is witty, Dark, Gloomy which may appeal negative to some audiences, but then its an art of cinema which comes with a disclaimer 'All characters and events depicted in this film are entirely fictitious'.

One of the 3 Indian movies to be nominated for an Oscar in over 50 years since the 'Best Foreign Film' category was created, this movie stands out as a tribute to the city of Bombay that houses Bollywood. Brilliantly shot, on a shoe string budget it brings together the 3 aspects of the city we all love and admire - its colors, its chaos and its children.Brilliant camera-work, direction and cinematography clubbed with heart rendering performances from Nana Patekar, Shafiq Syed and Raghuvir Yadav make the movie a 'must-watch' for me. The decrepitude of the city with drugs, prostitution, lawlessness, corruption and apathy of the society towards the kids comes out brilliantly in the film.Shafiq's near flawless portrayal of young Krishna / Chaipau showcases the determination of innocence.The film could have done with some editing and retakes. There are a couple of poorly shot, distracting scenes in which the young actors accidentally stare into the camera, but that is a minor and pardonable flaw, in my eye.The only problem that I see is that it labors a lot to set up the universe and does not move the story forward too much. This is more than made up for by the fantastic setting up of the universe. Another point I would like to make is that it tries to address too many minor themes, which does not do as much justice to the themes as one would have liked. The movie is Hugo, Requiem for a dream, Kaalia (1981) and much more wrapped into one.Mira, however, does not let you lose sight of Krishna and his struggle to get back to his "mulak", which to me is a testament to her film making abilities.

Maybe this film was meant to be different and award winning, but I found it to be a real Bore.The film basically focuses on the lives of street children in Bombay-how they come up, how they survive. That is all. The screenplay is good, story is different, there are no songs, film is kid of explicit...but real real boring....I barely withstood it for the entire length. Even the end was somewhat confusing for me. I could not understand it.Nana is generally great actor but in this film, his acting is not so remarkable. Would not recommend.

Watching this film made me see some unknown part of life. part of life which we people writing review here don't know. I cried for half an hour. The ending of the movie was one the saddest scene i have ever seen in any movie. This movie deserves more. Wnen i told my friends about the film they seemed amazed. All are busy watching cheap faulty movies with item songs. Peoples should watch this type of movies more. Indians really don't like this type of movies. They want sexy girl dancing. Do watch it. Will a life changing experience. Loved it... one of the best movies out there.