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This week will see the release of City of Gold, a film that promises to make you feel the pulse of Mumbai. There is also Apartment, about sharing a flat with strangers in the city. Quite a few movies have been made over the years with Mumbai as a backdrop. Let's take a look.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
The most recent from the lot is Danny Boyle's saga about a boy from the slums of Mumbai who goes on to win the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati. The film won eight Oscars and brought glory to A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan and Sukhwinder Singh, apart from the writer Loveleen Tandan and all the child artistes. Slumdog… has gone down in history as one of the best films depicting Mumbai's underground.
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
There is another film which shows the dark and murky side of Mumbai realistically – Mira Nair's National Film Award-winning Salaam Bombay, based on Sooni Taraporewala's book of an identical name. The film also has a young boy as its main protagonist, who runs away from home and ends up leading a rough street kid life in Mumbai, mostly in a red-light area. The poignant tale also won awards at Cannes and various other film festivals. And one thing common to Slumdog… and Salaam Bombay is the bit parts by actor Irrfan Khan.
Life in a…Metro (2007)
Anurag Basu's film did not have an entirely original plot - it was borrowed from Hollywood film The Apartment (1960) and such other films. But the way the director merged all the three parallel stories, and presented it as life in metropolitan Mumbai, really won the hearts of viewers. The film was complemented with good music by Pritam Chakraborty.
Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)
This film starring Soha Ali Khan, R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan portrayed the serial train blasts in Mumbai that took place on July 11, 2007. Mumbai Meri Jaan won three Filmfare Awards and also the National Film Award for best special effects.
A Wednesday (2008)
The ultimate film from the common man's point of view. A Wednesday shows an ordinary citizen (Naseeruddin Shah) anonymously taking the law into his hands against terrorists, an action arising out of sheer helplessness. And even though the police commissioner realises who he is, he lets him go. Watch the film to know why – if you haven't already.
Aamir (2008)
This was the first in the series of films on terrorism in Mumbai. The debut of TV hottie Rajeev Khandelwal, Aamir had him playing the title role of a man who is cleverly cornered by terrorists into blowing up the city by blackmailing him. In the end, Aamir sacrifices himself for Mumbai and its people.
Tum Mile (2009)
Soha Ali Khan starred in yet another disaster saga that hit Mumbai. This time, it was a film based on the devastating Mumbai floods of 2006. Emraan Hashmi played the male lead in the film. Unlike Mumbai Meri Jaan, this film did have a developing love story.
Bombay Boys (1998)
Kaizad Gustaad's much-talked about film starred Rahul Bose, Tara Deshpande, Naveen Andrews, Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth, Luke Kenny and Alexander Gifford. It shows the adventures of three NRI young men who arrive in Bombay – some to find their roots and some with Bollywood dreams. The film showed Mumbai's bars and slums in the boys' adventures, which also had an encounter with a Don Mastana (Naseeruddin Shah), an underworld don-cum-film producer.
Mumbai Salsa (2007)
Vikram Bhatt's film was yet again a film on relationships in the city of Mumbai, and the ups and downs in it. It revolves around eight youngsters living in Mumbai. The film takes a look at dysfunctional relationships in a funny kind of a way.
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