For Bollywood since its inception the metropolis of choice has always been Bombay from Shree 420 (dir. Raj Kapoor, 1955) to Satya (dir. Ram Gopal Varma, 1998), Hindi cinema’s narrative geography has featured Bombay in most of its cinema. For Bollywood until 2000’s other Indian cities even with its rich history and multifaceted culture, lacked the duality and double status needed for the cinematic setting when compared to Bombay. One might argue that the location of the film industry also contributes to the consolidation of this association but looking at the cinema made in the last two decade one can comment that Bollywood did start looking at other cities as muse in the later phase.

Leaving the partial behaviour of Bollywood towards Bombay aside Bollywood did manage to create two significant cinematic images of Bombay, one being of 50’s and the other of 70s and after. The first Bombay, which the song ‘yeh hai Bombay meri jaan (CID, dir. Raj Khosla 1956) immediately evokes an image of a city to be full pleasure and danger, of a thrilling anonymity as well as distressing inequality, both joyous and fearsome, a space where class conflict is a dominant. We may also include here the well-known examples like Shree 420 as well describing the cityscape that defined one of the distinctive sub-genres of the 50’s. This strain does not disappear with the 50s, but with the advent of a new narrative form in the 70s. a new Bombay makes its appearance, more vivid, dense, naked, disorienting, this Bombay can be seen in a variety of films ranging from Deewar (dir. Yash Chopra, 1974) to Satya (dir. Ram Gopal Varma, 1998) the portrayal of a grimy, crude, crime-stricken, claustrophobic metropolis with its half-constructed buildings, dimly lit alleys, dingy chawls, unkempt streets, and a ruthless community of gangsters is almost an antithesis to the glitz and glamour of Mumbai that most Hindi films have shown in the 80’s. Gang wars, extortion and killings are as integral to the city as its towering skyline and beautiful coastline is what the era showed us. Similar to that the self-confessed ode to Bombay- Saalam Bombay stands out for the way it turns the city inside out through the eyes of a pint-sized outsider and his chums who call the streets their home. Mira Nair tells a story we’ve heard much about but seldom get to see: Of the city’s proverbial underbelly, relentless aspirations and festering dreams.