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Salaam Bombay!

7.0

897

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Original title

Salaam Bombay!

Year

1988

Running time

114 min.

Country

India

Director

Mira Nair

Screenwriter

Sooni Taraporevala

Cast

Music

L. Subramaniam

Cinematography

Sandi Sissel

Producer

Co-production India-France-United Kingdom;

Cadrage, Film4 Productions, Doordarshan, Forum Films, La Sept Cinéma, Mirabai Films, National Film Development Corporation of India

Genre

Drama | Social Drama. Poverty

Synopsis

Mira Nair's first feature was an acclaimed drama depicting the desperate lives of homeless children in one of India's poorest cities. Krishna is a 10-year-old country boy forced to live on his own in the streets of Bombay after his family tosses him out. While he hopes to earn 500 rupees for his mother and return home, the all-consuming job of staying alive quickly makes that dream an unreality. He develops the street-smarts needed to survive in the seedy world of prostitutes, drug addicts, thieves, and other homeless children, but the harrowing experience takes an extremely heavy emotional toll on him. Although Krishna keeps trying to raise the money to return home, it is, in the end, a hopeless task.

Awards: 1988: Nominated for Oscar: Best Foreign Language Picture

1988: Cannes Film Festival: Golden Camera & Audience Award

1988: Golden Globes: Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film

1989: BAFTA Awards: Best Film not in the English Language

1988: César Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger)

1988: National Board of Review: Top Foreign Films

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Critics' reviews

"It is remarkable how well Nair creates this street world and tells us its rules without seeming to force her story (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"Much to Nair`s credit, she exploits neither the exoticism of her locale nor the misery of her subjects"

Dave Kehr: Chicago Tribune
"Poetic, powerful and disturbing, Salaam Bombay transcends language and cultural barriers."

Peter Travers: People Magazine
"Shot entirely on location with its child actors recruited from the streets, Salaam Bombay! enters into its subjects' lives with rare authority and absolute compassion."

Rupert Smith: Time Out
"What strikes you is not simply its energy and vitality and its Dickensian storytelling appetite, but its fierce unsentimentality (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Peter Bradshaw: The Guardian

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Ranking Lists Position

25 My Favorite Indian Movies (8)

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Salaam Bombay!

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