Mumbai: Mumbai city is gaining popularity in films and the city’s local trains have surfaced once again on the big screen. This time round, as a vital part of the script. Director Sanjay Khanduri has braved crowd trouble to shoot Ek Chalis Ki Last Local on location in a realistic manner and the story is somewhat similar to his own struggle days.
“I had to seek shelter in all kinds of places—from chals to penthouses. I saw the city and the people in all their form and all love. Somewhere inside the city left a deep impression on me which you will see rubbing off on this film,” says Film Maker Sanjay Khanduri.
The year ahead has more gritty Mumbai-centric films lined up. The multi-starrer Shootout at Lokhandwala traces the story so far on this famous fake encounter that occurred in 1991. Marathi filmmaker Nishikant Kamat whose Dombivli Fast won accolades at some film festivals, is now all set to make a hard hitting film on the train blasts 0f 2006, starring Madhavan.
There's also Wednesday, a film co produced by UTV, that takes a close look at the underworld and cop conflict in Mumbai. And, call it the Black Friday effect, all three films are close to the docu-drama format of ‘no frill’ story telling.
"Wednesday is based on an incident that shook Mumbai and the lives of its people. People changed in some way after those train bomb blasts. This style of filmmaking can work well when the film is based on a substantial script and is made honestly,” says Anupam Kher.
“I tried to keep the film realistic by keeping the drama limited. When we started the film both Sanjay Gupta and me wanted to put it on a different level,” said Apurva Lakhia, Director Shootout At Lokhandwala.
In fact, Mumbai's image of a glamorous tinsel-town clubbed with guns and slum life is now also attracting Hollywood's attention. Mira Nair's Shantaram will feature Johny Depp and the Big B in Dharavi, and Angelina Jolie will spend a fair share of her time dodging local trains in A Mighty Heart.
The teaming masses of Mumbai and their daily struggle is now fodder for mainstream films. The question now remains, is, how much will the rest of India relate to these city centric films.
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