Salaam Bombay!

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Salaam Bombay!

Released Oct 7, 1988

1h 53m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

93%

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29 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

After destroying his older brother's motorbike in retaliation for his constant bullying, 11-year-old Krishna (Shafiq Syed) is sent to a traveling circus to earn money to pay for the bike's repairs, but soon winds up in the streets of Bombay's poorest slums. There, he befriends the drug dealer Chillum (Raghubir Yadav) and the beautiful young prostitute Sola Saal (Chanda Sharma), while trying to make enough money at a neighborhood tea stall to repay his debt to his family.

Critics Consensus

Salaam Bombay! examines life in a part of the world many viewers have never visited -- but does so with enough compassion and grace to make them feel as if they have.

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Audience Member

Had this in my DVD stack for ages; glad lockdown gave me a chance to watch. The real-life locations are great and the child actors are very natural. Would like to hope the situation for the street children is better today.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

Masterpiece of Bollywood

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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bhuvanesh b

Awesome movie! Much better than the trash film Slumdog Millionaire.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Rarely has been captured the emotions of a child so real on film and for that Mira Nair, hats off!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

another tale of a street kid in the slums od Bombay (Mumbai)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Transcend yourself into one of the rare and most bitter cinematic experiences of all time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Mira Nair

Director

Shafiq Syed

Krishna

Hansa Vithal

Manju Golub

Aneeta Kanwar

Rekha

Raghuvir Yadav

Chillum

Chanda Sharma

Sola Saal

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Synopsis

After destroying his older brother's motorbike in retaliation for his constant bullying, 11-year-old Krishna (Shafiq Syed) is sent to a traveling circus to earn money to pay for the bike's repairs, but soon winds up in the streets of Bombay's poorest slums. There, he befriends the drug dealer Chillum (Raghubir Yadav) and the beautiful young prostitute Sola Saal (Chanda Sharma), while trying to make enough money at a neighborhood tea stall to repay his debt to his family.

Director: Mira Nair
Producer: Mira Nair
Screenwriter: Sooni Taraporevala
Production Co: Mirabai Films, National Film Development Corporation of India, Film Four International
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Hindi
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 7, 1988, Original
Release Date (DVD): Oct 14, 2014
Runtime: 1h 53m