Salaam Bombay
Give a brief description of the main
characters: The main characters in this
movie are Krishna, his friend
Chillum, a prostitute with her small daughter, a
pimp, street-kids and a
16-yr old girl. Krishna: Krishna is a twelve year old
boy, who is in search
for a job so that he can earn enough money to pay his
mother in order to
return to his family. He is left behind by a travelling
circus where he
works. Left with no other option Krishna decides to head to a
big city in
search for a job. He heads to Bombay, a big metropolitan city in
India.
He finds a job at a tea-shop as a tea-delivery boy. Apparently this
tea-shop
is located near a prostitution area of the city, which Krishna has
to
frequent to deliver the tea. There he comes across various people, such as
a
prostitute who has a small daughter, a 16-yr old girl who has been
forcefully
dragged into this profession, and these people then slowly become
a part of his
life in the city. Krishna’s experiences in the city, his
ability to withstand
the tough life in the city, his generosity towards his
friend, the conflicts
that take place, all create interesting "bends" in this
movie. The plight of
abandoned street children in Bombay is examined through
the life of Krishna
works hard to overcome his conditions only to find there
is no way out! Chillum:
Chillum like Krishna had ran away from his home
in the village at a very young
age and came to Bombay. Chillum is a drug
addict and works for a pimp in the
prostitution area. Chillum and Krishna
slowly develop a close-knit friendship as
both can identify with each other’s
lives. When Chillum loses his job, and
can’t any more, becomes dependent on
Krishna for expenses on drugs. He dies
soon of drug abuse. In a way, through
Chillum this movie portrays how drugs have
affected life of the poor
street-kids of Bombay, how they are mistreated and
abused by people who take
advantage of them because of their vulnerability. The
prostitute with her
daughter: This is yet another result of human desire that
plagues human
society- prostitution. As sad as it is, prostitution in cities
like Bombay is
a big business. Most girls who become prostitutes, don’t do so
by choice,
they are forced into it. Most of these girls are from small towns
and
villages, who are brought to cities with big promises and then dumped
into such
areas. The story of the prostitute in the movie is no different.
The word
prostitute doesn’t seem apt for this lady, who shows such compassion
and love.
It is a very sad situation that she is in, like many other
prostitutes in cities
like Bombay. Through her daughter the movie portrays
the life of many such kids,
who are abused and neglected by a parent, in her
case, Baba. Her mother however
is very loving and cares for her, she doesn’t
want her daughter to end up in
the same profession as her. She is the world
to her mother. Baba (the pimp): The
pimp who calls himself Baba (respected
master) is a dark character in this
movie. He is the father of the
prostitute’s daughter. He apparently is also a
drug dealer who employs people
like Chillum to distribute drugs around the city.
He lives off the money
that the prostitute earns. He had promised her that he
will someday free her
from this profession, but that was just a promise that he
never lives up to.
Street-Kids: The street-kids portrayed in the movie, although
are seemingly
very mean and nasty, they are a victim of the vicious circle of
poverty that
exists in big cities like Bombay. many such kids run away from
their homes in
small towns and villages in search of a better life or jobs and
the
attraction of cities like Bombay, which is a center of the
Indian
film-industry leads them there. This vicious circle makes them do
crimes like
robbery, gambling and drug abuse. Source of Conflict: "Salaam
Bombay!"
is the story of Krishna, a 12-year old boy who is left behind by the
traveling
circus in which he works. He finds his way to Bombay and becomes a
child of the
streets, working odd jobs to scrounge up the 500 rupees his
mother is demanding
in order to return to his family. In the meantime,
Krishna develops a new family
of pimps, prostitutes, junkies, and street
kids. Although these friends educate
him on life in the big city, he never
loses the desire to return to his family
and small town. He also maintains
his generous nature, giving gifts and lending
money even though it constantly
delays his journey home. Resolution of conflict:
This movie highlights
the amazing resilience of children in the worst of
situations. Krishna
perseveres a grim scenario, and still finds the energy to
create a glimmer of
hope in the most despairing around him. But as that hope is
extinguished in
each of his closest friends, Krishna finds himself, finally, at
his breaking
point. What you learned about the values of this culture: Not only
is "Salaam
Bombay!" a fascinating story, but it is a remarkable window
on the subtleties
of Indian life. When Krishna walks around delivering glasses
of chai (tea) to
local residents and workers, one gains a better understanding
of the ways
Indians relate to one another. The movie also has scenes scenes of
Indian
bureaucracy and chaotic religious festivals to give the viewer a feeling
of
the loneliness and anonymity that are part of everyday life in the streets
of
this vast and overpopulated country. It simply highlights the pluralism
aspect
of India. Why (and for whom) this film was made: This film was made as
a window
to the kind of life that many street-kids lead in big cities such as
Bombay,
where they are faced with poverty and unemployment, which sometimes
leads them
to commit crimes. Krishna represents the many children who run
away from their
homes in villages in search of a job and a better life- which
ironically enough
don’t exist for them in Bombay! It also brings forth
another aspect of our
society, the profession of prostitution, which is the
oldest in the world and
now the "saddest". It shows the sad realities about
the profession, how
sometimes innocent people are dragged into it, how it
changes their lives and
the lives of the people around them.