Growing up in Mumbai there have been some movies which have captured the essence of the city for me like only they could. From the dreams to the heart breaks, the ‘Tapori bhasha’ to its iconic locations here’s a round-up of a few of the movies that come to mind at the mention of Mumbai.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro by Kundan Shah (1983)
It’s a cult film for obvious reasons and has lots of Mumbai elements/characteristics which serve as important plot points.
Salaam Bombay! by Mira Nair (1988)
I watched it as a kid and then revisited it in film school away from home. It left an impact on me at both times and I decided to shoot my graduation film (from university in UK) back in Mumbai.
Agneepath by Mukul Anand (1990), Rangeela by Ram Gopal Varma (1995), Satya by Ram Gopal Varma (1998) and Vaastav: The Reality by Mahesh Manjrekar (1999)
It’s hard to choose between Agneepath, Vaastav, Satya and Rangeela, but they all have characters that are moulded by Bombay, the way only this city could.
Black Friday by Anurag Kashyap (2004)
Purely because of the kind of research and guts it would have taken for a then, almost unknown filmmaker to make the movie on such a sensitive but important subject.
Wake Up Sid by Ayan Mukherji (2009) and Taalash by Reema Kagti (2012)
Wake up Sid and Talaash because I worked on these films and developed a special bond with both, film making and Mumbai through these projects.
About Kirnay Bhatt
Kirnay started working in the film industry in 2008 as an assistant director on films and TVCs. Currently he is working as a freelance editor and writer who can shoot (Film and video) and photograph too. Additionally he also works as a CrossFit (A fitness program) instructor which he considers to be more of a sport than a gym routine. He loves to see people get joy, satisfaction and results from putting themselves through what some would call ‘brutal’ or ‘unconventional’ workouts
