Dwelling In (On) Bombay Cinema

Part A: An Extended Prologue
Brilliantly, she walks us through a non-chronological winding
path through the multiple thematical subjects that she finds the
cinema of Bombay to archive only to reveal how these five subjects
have been of utmost social importance to Bombay as a megapolis.
Bombay is an enormous city, but perhaps not as large as the
fictional reality created by its film industry. Bombay’s cinematic
archive is one that spans thousands of films in a multitude of
genres and multi-genres.
The following list can be compiled taking into account merely the
temporal “postcolonial” period, and the use of the city-scape as a
space for production and/or setting. Further parameters can be
examined in order to create a balance between, independent and
popular films, foreign and national productions, female and male
producers and directors, etc.
Identifying Parameters
Our question of domesticity involves a wide range of cinematic
objects. From women to footpaths to large doors. The intention
mustn’t be to merely meditate on architectural and domestic
elements visible on the screen. Rather it is to use cinema as the
inter-disciplinary, narrative medium it was designed to be. The
idea is to observe the full spectrum of cinematic objects and their
context with the intent to identify the elements that help tell the
story of housing in Bombay. Looking for apt objects for studying
the “dwelling”, Bombay cinema is seen to talk generously about
the following facets.
The #interiors of the house are spatially insulated from the dense
claustrophobic city. This is vital not only architecturally for the
city to function, but also in cinema as the characters tackle the
complexities of the various realms of cinematic spatial reality.
Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (Barjatya, 1994) shows us how through
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