Starring | Arvind Swami, Manisha Koirala, Arvind Swamy | ||
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Music By | A R Rahman | ||
Lyric By | Vairamuthu, Vaali | ||
Singers | Hariharan, Chithra, A R Rahman, G. V. Prakash Kumar, Malgudi Subha, Annupamaa, Swarnalatha, Suresh Peters, Sujatha Mohan | ||
Year | 1995 |
Bombay is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language Indian romantic drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala in the lead, and featuring music composed by A. R. Rahman. The film tells the story of an inter-religious family in Bombay (now Mumbai) before and during the Bombay riots, which took place between December 1992 and January 1993 after the demolition of Babri Masjid led to religious tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities. It is the second in Ratnam's trilogy of films that depict human relationships against a background of Indian politics, including Roja (1992) and Dil Se.. (1998). The film was dubbed in Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam with the same title.
Eventually becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the Chennai film industry, the film was well-received both critically and commercially, and it was screened at many international film festivals including the Philadelphia Film Festival in 1996 where it was an audience favourite. The film's soundtrack sold 15 million units, becoming one of the best-selling soundtrack albums of all time. It earned composer A. R. Rahman his fourth consecutive Filmfare Best Music Director Award (Tamil), and is considered one of greatest soundtracks of all time. However, the film caused considerable controversy upon release in India and abroad for its depiction of inter-religious relations and religious riots. The film was banned in Singapore and Malaysia upon release.
In July 2005, a book on the film by Lalitha Gopalan was published by BFI Modern Classics, looking at the film's production, the several issues it covered, and its impact upon release in India and abroad. The film was ranked among the top 20 Indian films in the British Film Institute's rankings.
The soundtrack of the film was scored by Academy Award winner A. R. Rahman which is hailed as a masterpiece amongst his works.