Bombay Talkies: Film Review
A Great Booster to the Makers of Short Films All Over The World
Film: Bombay Talkies.
Producer: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Ashi Dua.
Directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar &
Anurag Kashyap.
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Rani Mukherjee, Nawazuddin
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Randeep Hooda, Vineet Kumar, Sakib
Quershi.
Rating: 
Bombay Talkies are a tribute to 100 years of Cinema! Now four different film makers who have tasted success in their respective genre of film making, get together to experiment with the kind of subjects which they strongly felt for and got a chance to showcase them in a Short film format to convey a message of sorts that its only cinema, whether its Short or full length Feature Film, through which one can convey a string of emotions which otherwise would lie unattended.
With no commercial angle to the plot, the stories unfold as they were conceived and created by all the four directors, Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, and Zoya Akhtar & Anurag Kashyap. In fact they have set a trend whereby any short filmmaker will not feel shortchanged but will get charged observing the way this bouquet of Short films in a package ably titled Bombay Talkies is presented and with smart marketing is able to get systematic theatrical release, which otherwise was a dream for all the short filmmakers all over the world.
All the four films are beautifully handled and even the tiniest of the details are taken care of, as the filmmakers who have helmed the megaphone, generally and creatively do with their feature film outing. All the characters Rani Mukherjee, Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sakib Quereshi, Ranvir Shorey, little boy in Zoya’s film and all the supporting cast have done their bit quite commendably. Small cameo appearances by Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif in their Superstar avatars add to the overall impact of the said films in which they are seen.
But the only sore point and the most distracting element in the film exercise turns out to be the title song. Very badly misplaced and in fact not needed in the first place. We could have done without it. Why even after 100 years of Cinema we are still stuck up with the title songs which have but become mandatory with every narration that got picturised. When you are living the nostalgic moments of the century, the songs and music which made those movies and their dialogues and which became legendry with legendry characters could have done the job so beautifully and melodiously with the “ORIGINALS”, itself. But that was not the case to be and it was virtual torture, when you crave for those popular numbers and sound and music beats which goes with the images displayed from the films of the yore.
Another big let down…. When you have the might to get the Who’s Who’s of the tinsel town, than why not begin the film with them. The film could have begun with the assembly of all the superstars, Actors, Actresses adorning the landmark staircase of the Monumental Asiatic Library at Flora Fountain, with their flowery comments commemorating centenary celebration of Indian Cinema. Would say an opportunity lost when so much more could have been said and done to highlight the efforts of the four wonderful short films brought together by four brilliant film makers of our time.
