Bombay Boys

Bombay Boys is a 1998 Indian cult comedy film written and directed by the Indian director Kaizad Gustad. It follows the adventures of three young men in modern-day Mumbai (or Bombay). The boys are of Indian origin, but were all raised in the West. Krishna Sahni (played by Naveen Andrews) is an aspiring actor from New York City who wants to make it big in Bollywood. Ricardo Fernandes (Rahul Bose) is from Sydney, Australia and is in Mumbai to search for his long-lost brother. Finally, Xerxes Mistry (Alexander Gifford), a musician from London, is looking to discover his "roots" in the land of his ancestors.

Bombay Boys
Directed byKaizad Gustad
Written byKaizad Gustad
Starring
CinematographyKramer Morgenthau
Edited byPriya Krishnaswamy
Music byDhruv Ghanekar
Ashutosh Pathak
Release date
  • 25 December 1998 (1998-12-25)
Running time
105 min.
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The three meet each other for the first time at Mumbai's airport and decide to find a place together. In the course of the movie, Krishna finds out that, in order to break into the local film industry, he must first win the (decidedly risky) patronage of Don Mastana (Naseeruddin Shah), a godfather of the Mumbai underworld who's also a film producer. Mastana is a violent man who thinks nothing of impaling a lizard with a knife or shattering the skull of a fellow crime boss for making a pass at his girlfriend.

Ricardo, the serious-looking Australian, finds out the sad fate of his brother, but also manages to fall in love with Mastana's spunky moll Dolly (Tara Deshpande), igniting further flames. Xerxes, who's a Parsi, is led to embrace his latent homosexuality by their gay landlord (Roshan Seth).

Cast

Production

Bombay Boys, which took four years to complete, was filmed on location in Mumbai's bars, slums and markets. The film was made on a limited budget; director Kaizad Gustad financed the film with credit cards as well as by borrowing money from his family and friends.[1]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar and released by Sony Music India.

Bombay Boys
Soundtrack album by
Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar
Released12 August 1998
Recorded1998
GenreSoundtrack
Length40:12
LabelSony Music India
ProducerAshutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar
Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar chronology
Tamanna
(1997)		 Bombay Boys
(1998)		 Snip!
(2000)
Track list
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Mumbhai"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Javed Jaffrey5:06
2."Paisa Paisa Paisa"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Mehnaz6:11
3."Sunoh"Lucky Ali5:02
4."Mastana's Theme"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Smoke, Naseeruddin Shah5:04
5."Yeah Yeah"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Indus Creed3:04
6."Tabla Dholak"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Vinay Mandke1:56
7."Quest"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Anaida6:22
8."Bombay Blues"Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Bashir Sheikh5:01
9."Waltzing Matunga"Merlyn D'Souza, Asif Ali Beg, Mantra2:26
Total length:40:12

Critical reception

The film was subjected to criticism for its homosexuality and profanity. Film critic Yashodhara Pawar stated the film as "The harmful and immature portrayal of ethnic groups in films is an issue for not just South Asians in the global media but also the local and tribal productions in individual countries.".[2] Another film critic Tanmeet Kumar from Planet Bollywood, stated that the film has portrayed India as "Americanized India". Tara Deshpande's performance was praised.[3] Pradeep Sebastian of Deccan Herald wrote that "Going by the crowds flocking to see it, it[']s clear that Indian audiences have begun to expect good things from Indian English films. But this is one they are going to be disappointed with".[4]

References
  1. Ezra, Elizabeth; Rowden, Terry (2006). Transnational Cinema: The Film Reader. Taylor & Francis. p. 61. ISBN 0-415-37158-9.
  2. SAWNET: Film Review : Bombay Boys. Sawnet. Retrieved, 8 June 2014
  3. Planet-Bollywood - Film Review - Bombay Boys Archived 15 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Planet Bollywood. Retrieved, 8 June 2014
  4. "Cinema Reviews - Deccan Herald".
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