Bombay (1995), directed by Mani Ratnam, is an Indian Tamil-language film that became one of the highest grossing films in the Chennai film industry. It has been dubbed in Telugu and Hindi, and this essay will describe a song sequence from the Hindi lyrics of the song. Bombay depicts the story of a Hindu man named Shekar Mishra Narayan (played by Arvind Swamy), and a Muslim woman named Shaila Bano (played by Manisha Koirala) who fall in love and move to the Indian city of Bombay to be together, since both of their parents were not supportive of the relationship, which was considered taboo in their small villages. When they arrive at Bombay together, they are met with odd looks and confused remarks when people find out they are an interreligious couple, especially one that is Hindu/Muslim. Shekar and Shaila have children, twin boys, and raise them without distinct religious identity, but instead with an appreciation and understanding of both cultures. The film progresses to focus on the events between December 1992 and January 1993, when the demolition of the Babri Masjid by a group of extremist right-wing Hindus caused religious tensions and civil unrest leads to riots all over the country. The film contains elements of a traditional Bollywood film, such as aspects of melodrama, romance, and song sequences, but centers in primarily on the Hindu-Muslim tensions during the aforementioned period. Throughout this paper, I will explain how the final song the film, “Aankhon Mein Ummeedon”, shows the implied and hopeful reunification of India, ceasing the divides between the two fighting religions.
For context, director Mani Ratnam created three movies, Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Dil Se (1995), each of which depicted relationships in the midst of Indian political unrest and terrorism during that time. These films, dubbed the “Terrorism Trilogy”, or, in a more positive connotation, “Politics Paralleling People” films, received much critical acclaim due to their intense, raw depictions of the issues present in India at the time (Priya 2018). Ratnam included several traditional aspects of Indian culture, some of which exemplified the norm of “such as the joint family and idealized gender roles” which were viewed in society as a response to the threat posed to a patriarchal order due to social changes as a result of post-economic liberalization. (Anjaria 2008). In Bombay, we see the joint family come together as a cohesive unit after both Shekar and Shaila’s parents come to make amends with their children.
All songs in Bombay were composed by A.R. Rahman, with the lyrics written by Mehboob (Hindi version only, which is discussed), including “Aankhon Mein Ummeedon”. The song appears at the very end of the movie and takes over the last scene of the movie in its entirety, leaving the viewer with a serene conclusion. The preceding scene shows Shekar angrily yelling at the violent, quarrelling mob, telling them to stop their insane acts of violence, and to set him on fire if they wanted to. The mob silences themselves, dispersing and dropping their weapons and torches, in realization that he is right about the situation. The scene then ends with Shaila sobbing, gripping Shekar’s shirt as she helplessly asks him why he did such a crazy act, with him asking the mob to set him ablaze. “Aankhon Mein Ummeedon” supports this scene in a more calm and collected way, because its preceding scene is rather hectic, and the song instead puts Shekar’s chaotic actions into a peaceful and cohesive musical number.
In a 2008 article by Natalie Sarrazin, she states that “Dualities in the Indian narrative include tensions between caste (he is from a higher caste, she is from a lower one or vice versa), class (rich/poor), religion (Muslim-Hindu or Hindu-Christian), or especially arranged vs love marriages.” Sarrazin makes a valid point in claiming that one of the post common tensions include those between religion, and this film expresses that tension throughout by providing depictions of the violence and hatred expressed between the two religious groups, and the tensions between those fighting amongst one another and those trying to stop the fighting. “Aankhon Mein Ummeedon” is almost like a method used to dissolve the tensions within between either tense of the tense fights within the movie by not only having a softer, dulcet melody but also containing lyrics pertaining a peaceful renaissance for India, where the fighting will cease, and the reunification of the nation will bring individuals together.
The song sequence begins shortly after Shekar’s rant, as Shekar hears a child yell “Papa!”, and the camera zooms in on the couple’s sons, whom they had lost in a riot previously in the movie. The camera switches back and forth, between the children running towards their parents and the parents realizing that their children are alive. In between those shots, there are short clips of different people holding hands: adults, children, Muslims, and Hindus alike. Most of this happens in slow motion, emphasizing the emotions portrayed within the scene and allowing the audience to truly take in the intensity of the scene. Some of the hand-holding shots are panned out, showing a line of people holding hands, while some of the shots show a close up of just two people’s hands. I believe the director chose to include both types of shots in order to emphasize the importance of accepting others at an individual and a group level.
The first panned out shot showing a group of people holding hands in an assembled line is coupled with the lyrics “Let’s usher in a new dawn. The second time the lyric line “Let’s usher in a new dawn” is sung, the shot is of several people literally “ushering” others to join them in their line of holding hands. The two shots, in conjunction with one another, allow the audience to connect the “new dawn” concept with unity and peace amongst those with different views. A crane shot is used with the line “Let’s cleanse our hearts of the hatred”, as if the director is referring to the larger group of people shown in the shot doing exactly that, and telling the audience to do the same. This is followed by a close-up shot of two hands holding, which I believe is a technique the director used to show the “cleansing of hatred” at the macroscopic level (the bigger group of people) and the microscopic level (two individuals getting rid of their inner hatred). The shot that follows is that of the two sons finally being reunited in a gracious hug with their mother in conjunction with the line “it will lead to peace”. This is the director’s way of saying that if we cleanse our hearts of hatred (i.e. the violence depicted earlier in the film), it will lead to peaceful reunification of not just the mother and her children, but also the reunification of India as a whole, regardless of religion. The director uses shots of both parents and the children individually, and then together, putting emphasis on the reunification of the family as a microscopic way to view the reunification as the other people in the song-scene (which show a more macroscopic perspective), and it also shows the impact and importance of the family reunion. The scene and song progress, and the director then uses a rack shot, first focusing on a person’s hand, outstretched to another who is out of focus on the screen but is later focused on by the camera as he turns towards the offered hand. The use of this rack shot is also coupled with the lyric “Let’s usher in a new dawn”, emphasizing that there will be a fresh start if everyone got along to reunify as Indians instead of fighting as separate religions. The final image the audience is left with is one of the reunited family and an overlay with two people holding hands, showing once again that if fighting stops there is hope for not only the joyous reunification of a family, but also India as a whole.
With his use of close-up shots, rack shots, panned out shots, and slow motion sequences, director Ratnam drew focus to many different elements of the scene and emphasize what he most likely saw as the most important aspects, such as holding hands among people of different religions and having the scene correspond with the lyrics of the song. Ratnam directed the Tamil version of the movie, so Mehboob had to create lyrics that corresponded with the original Tamil song, flowed properly with A.R. Rahman’s composition, and worked in conjunction with the scene, which I believe he did well in the context of the scene. Overall, the use of the song “Aankhon Mein Ummeedon” in Bombay at the end of the film allowed director Mani Ratnam, composer A.R. Rahman and lyricist Mehboob to create a musical and filmic representation of a unified and cohesive India, where religion does not hinder the people of the country from being kind and cooperative to one another.