Salaam Bombay!

Nominated for Best Foreign Film of 1988, this sensitive portrayal of children on the streets of Bombay, features a winning performance from Shafiq Syed as 11-year-old Chaipau. Sent away by his mother, and then abandoned by a travelling circus, Chaipau throws himself into the money-grubbing melee of Bombay in an effort to earn the 500 rupees he needs to return home. Surrounded by drug addicts, pimps, and prostitutes, the plucky boy makes his meager living by delivering cups of milky tea. One of his customers, a prostitute, has a daughter named Manju, who has a crush on Chaipau--and the two children end up being thrown together into the "chiller room"--a euphemism for India's harsh penal institution for children. This is a powerful, albeit depressing, film which offers a frightening depiction of India's city youth. One minor quibble: the film is not rated, and Virgin Vision has added the following to the box--"Does not contain objectionable language, violence or sex." This is rather misleading, since it suggests that the film is suitable for the whole family. But some parents may find terms such as "bastard", "bitch", and "fuckers" a bit strong for kids--not to mention that the film revolves around the lives of Bombay's criminal element. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review--March 25, 2003--MGM, 114 min., in Hindi w/English subtitles, not rated, $24.98--Presented in a gorgeous widescreen transfer with luminous Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, this entry in MGM's "World Films Special Edition" series is brimming with fine extras, starting with a pair of commentary tracks--one by director Nair, the other by cinematographer Sandi Sissel. The disc also includes five new featurettes (roughly seven minutes each) spotlighting cast and crew (then and now), as well as an 11-minute featurette (on the making of the film, and a look at contemporary Bombay some 15 years later), and a photo gallery. Bottom line: a stellar DVD release of one of 1988's best films.] [Blu-ray Review—Dec. 15, 2015—Kino, 113 min., in Hindi & English w/English subtitles, not rated, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1988's Salaam Bombay! features a nice transfer with a mono 2.0 soundtrack. Extras are identical to the previous DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one by director Mira Nair; the other by cinematographer Sandi Sissel), cast and crew featurettes (35 min.), a 'making-of' featurette (11 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: Nair's wonderful Oscar-nominated film makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]