From Bombay to Madras, with love and fandom

Mani Ratnam's Bombay delves into Hindu-Muslim tensions with a romantic core, offering hope amidst societal turmoil.

If Bharathiraja took Tamil cinema out of the studios and projected stories from the rural hinterland, Mani Ratnam went one step ahead and dealt with national topics that had repercussions cutting across State boundaries. His Bombay, which highlighted the riots that ravaged India’s commercial capital in 1992-93, was a nuanced take on Hindu-Muslim identities, the resultant mindless anger, and the angst of ordinary citizens caught in a political crossfire.

With Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala in the lead, and playing lovers shedding religious dogmas and stitching a life together in the western metropolis, Bombay had an endearing romance as its core before panning out to become a sweeping and factual gaze at the riots that tore many lives asunder. In the Madras of the 1990s, Bombay, which turned 30 on March 10, having been released on the same date in 1995, was a hit.

Mani Ratnam’s storytelling arc, Rajiv Menon’s splendid cinematography, and a rousing score from A.R. Rahman combined to offer a slice of India grappling with religious dissonance. It was a script that could have easily slipped into a docu-drama zone, but the ace director narrated a gripping and thought-provoking tale within the confines of commercial cinema. Even as the audience were shown a mirror to the horrors that a polarised society could suffer from, there was also relief and hope through the romance and parenthood axis while the songs became chartbusters.

On the flip side, the uyire song helped the Bekal Fort in northern Kerala attract more tourists, while Sonali Bendre sashayed into many hearts through the humma humma song. For college students of that era, bunking classes and catching a noon show at the Devi Complex on Mount Road became a rite of passage. The second-half wasn’t an easy watch as it dealt with riots, deaths, missing children, and the agony of parents.

However, it was also a film that pointed at the innate goodness of people and how beyond the narrow polarising confines of religious intolerance, there was always space for hope and the movie did conclude on that note. Seen as part of Mani Ratnam’s Indian trilogy, Bombay was flanked on either side by Roja and Dil Se. Dubbed into Telugu and Hindi, the film made a mark beyond Tamil Nadu.

And for those in Madras, especially with a younger audience, Mani Ratnam became this director they all identified with. Bombay had stunning visuals, ranging from Tamil Nadu’s countryside to Mumbai’s intricate streets throbbing with life’s frenetic rush. It was also a film that spotlighted national fissures having hyper-local consequences.