Apr 19, 2025 05:03 PM IST
In a recent interview, Bombay cinematographer Rajiv Menon spoke about the Mani Ratnam film and his reasons for thinking why it couldn’t be made today.
Cinematographer Rajiv Menon, who has worked on projects with Mani Ratnam like Guru and Kadal, believes a film like Bombay could not be made today. Talking to O2 India about the Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala-starrer turning 30, he said that theatres would be ‘burnt down’ if the film were made today. (Also Read: Thug Life release date teaser: Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam film to hit screens on this date in 2025. Watch)
Rajiv Menon on why Bombay couldn’t be made today
Rajiv said in the interview that India has become ‘less tolerant’ than it was three decades ago when Bombay was released. He stated that people might take ‘strong positions’ to the film and that you cannot expect the film to be released without any theatre being ‘burnt down’ now.
He said, “The point is the entire film like Bombay today cannot be made. Because the situation in India is so volatile, and people will take up positions which are so strong, and religion has become such a big issue. I don’t think you can make a film like Bombay and release in theatre and not expect the theatre to be burnt down today. In 25-30 years time, India has become less tolerant.”
He also spoke about why Manisha’s character’s burqa gets snagged on an anchor in the song Uyire (Tu Hi Re in Hindi) and how it was not an allegory for her ‘losing faith to be with her lover’. He said that because they had only one costume in the scene, and she was wearing a blue dress, they thought showing it off would be an ‘interesting idea’.
“It was not with the idea of…it was just with the boredom of one dress becoming…we didn’t have any dance master. We were just planning things and shooting in the way we felt it was,” he explained.
About Bombay
Bombay was released on March 10, 1995, and was a critical and commercial success. It was also released in Hindi with the same title. The film tells the story of a Hindu man and a Muslim woman falling in love and navigating the Bombay riots, which took place between December 1992 and January 1993. It was the second instalment in Mani’s trilogy that surrounded Indian politics and relationships. Roja was released in 1992, and Dil Se…was released in 1998.
Mani’s next film, Thug Life with Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan TR, will be released on June 5.
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