Reviewed January 19, 2006
A Great Film
I recently watched "Salaam Bombay" for the second time, not having seen it for several years. I had remembered it as a film about a street child but on this second viewing I realized that it is a much richer and more complex film than I remembered. The visceral impact I remembered from the first time I saw it was still there - the powerfully affecting story of Krishna, an eleven-year-old boy who gets entangled in the street life of Bombay. But there are several other tales deftly interwoven with Krishna's tragic story that give us an in-depth picture of life at the bottom in Bombay. The likeable drug addict and dealer, the prostitute, her child and her pimp/lover, a beautiful young virgin that Krishna falls in love with, all have their stories. In addition there are the irrepressible street children who befriend Krishna.
What happens in this film? A boy is left behind when the circus he works for packs up and leaves without him. He makes his way to Bombay and becomes a tea boy, a chaipau, delivering glasses of tea from a stand. He also works skinning chickens, cleaning their cages, as a waiter at a wedding, and on occasion as a thief. He is saving what little money he earns to go back to his family in his village. The film details his struggles to survive and realize his dream.
As in another great film about street children, Hector Babenco's "Pixote," the film was cast using real street children in Bombay and their energy and wit fill this film with vitality. Shafiq Syed plays the hero, Krishna, with wonderful depth and pathos. The year the film was released he received the Indian award for best child actor. His performance is perfect. But every supporting performance is so well done that one wants to see more of even minor characters such as the youngest street child, named "Insect."
It's a splendid film and don't let the release date of 1988 put you off. There is nothing dated about this film. It's a classic. It's worth buying because it's well worth watching more than once.
The dvd extras include interviews with the child actors/street children now grown up and some background on the Salaam Baalak Trust, which was founded with some of the proceeds of the film and now assists some 5,000 street children every year.
Awards
- Cannes Film Festival: Golden Camera
- Los Angeles Women in Film Festival: Lilian Gish Award for Excellence in Feature Film
- Montréal World Film Festival: Jury Prize
Nominations
- Academy Awards, USA: Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film
- BAFTA Awards: BAFTA Film Award for Best Film not in the English Language
- César Awards, France: César for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger)
- Filmfare Awards: Filmfare Award for Best Director
- Golden Globes, USA: Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film
(Review by Brian Horne - all rights reserved.)
