Salaam Bombay! (1988)

• Year: 1988
• Released: 07 Oct 1988
• Country: India, United States, France, United Kingdom
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 13 wins & 8 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096028/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/salaam_bombay
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Hindi, English
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 113 min
• Writer: Mira Nair, Sooni Taraporevala, Hriday Lani
• Director: Mira Nair
• Cast: Shafiq Syed, Anjaan, Amrit Patel
• Keywords: woman director, drugs, prostitution, street life,

	7.9/10
	78/100
	93% – Critics
	93% – Audience

Salaam Bombay! Storyline

Fed up of being endlessly bullied by his older brother, Krishna sets fire to his motorbike, and his furious mother takes him to the nearby Apollo Circus and informs him that he can only come home after he earns Rs.500/- to pay for the damaged bike. Krishna agrees to this and finds employment with the circus. One day the boss sends him on an errand, and he returns to discover that the circus has packed up and departed. Alone, not knowing where to go or how to earn the 500 rupees he needs, he travels to the nearest big city: Bombay. Immediately robbed of what little he has, he follows the thieves and befriends them. He ends up in Bombay’s notorious red-light area of Falkland Road near Grant Road Railway Station. One of the thieves, Chillum, a drug pusher and addict, helps him get a job on the “Grant Road Tea Stall” and changes his name to “Chaipau.” He soon discovers that saving money among his new associates in his new surroundings is next to impossible. He also has a crush on young prostitute Sola Saal; he sets fire to her room and tries unsuccessfully to elope with her–which earns him a beating and relieves him of his job. He then works odd jobs to feed himself and look after Chillum, who cannot live without his drugs. He and his pals also break into an elderly Parsi man’s place in broad daylight to rob him. One night several of his friends return home to get apprehended by the police and taken to a juvenile home, but Krishna escapes and returns to his world of drug pushers, pimps, and prostitutes. Will he ever be able to return to his mother?

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Salaam Bombay! Movie Reviews

Haunting – more people should see it

This is one of the single most powerful films I’ve ever seen. Having been to India several times and knowing to an extent what it’s like for the poor kids that have to make it on the streets, it really gets to me. I know that it received quite a bit of critical acclaim when it came out, but I didn’t discover it until recently, and, judging from the number of votes that its gotten on this site, it doesn’t seem as though too many people have seen it. I hope more people do; these kids don’t have much of a voice in their own country, let alone the rest of the world, but movies like this give them one and it should be heard by everyone.

A heart wrenching and very realistic drama.

Having just returned from an extended trip to India I was keen to see a quality Indian film (not bollywood drival)and I have come across one of the most realistic and moving films I have ever seen. Having been involved in helping street kids in India I was pleased to come across this film which so accurately depicts life, love and death around a group of street boys in Bombay.

SALAAM BOMBAY is the story of a 12-year-old street boy surviving and etching out an existence on the squalled streets of Bombay. The interactions these kids have with each other made me feel I was watching a doco. The kids in India are so much like Chipau and the others depicted in Salaam Bombay its amazing. They all have there individual lives and dreams like us all but are burdened with extreame poverty.

The story lines in the film are about the prostitution business, drug addiction and homeless children. All these elements combine so as we see the people and lives behind them. These issues are rarely dealt with on such a personal and emotional level as we see in this film. This ain’t Hollywood and it sure ain’t Bollywood.

For me my favorite all time film. You may have difficulty in finding this film at your local video library but it truly is worth viewing.

Recently we showed this film to a group of street kids in Pune, India. They were amazed at its realism. All thought they were watching real people not actors,(These kids have grown up watching Bollywood films). This same group would have watched this film 5 times now. And all could identify with the characters.

Haunting

This is one of the single most powerful films I’ve ever seen. Having been to India several times and knowing to an extent what it’s like for the poor kids that have to make it on the streets, it really gets to me. I know that it received quite a bit of critical acclaim when it came out, but I didn’t discover it until recently, and, judging from the number of votes that its gotten on this site, it doesn’t seem as though too many people have seen it. I hope more people do; these kids don’t have much of a voice in their own country, let alone the rest of the world, but movies like this give them one and it should be heard by everyone.