Bombay Boys

Bombay Boys is a 1998 Indian crime comedy film written and directed by the Indian director Kaizad Gustad. It follows the adventures of three young men in modern-day Mumbai (or Bombay). The boys are of Indian origin, but were all raised in the West. Krishna Sahni (played by Naveen Andrews) is an aspiring actor from New York City who wants to make it big in Bollywood. Ricardo Fernandes (Rahul Bose) is from Sydney and is in Mumbai to search for his long-lost brother. Finally, Xerxes Mistry (Alexander Gifford), a musician from London, is looking to discover his "roots" in the land of his ancestors.

Bombay Boys
Directed by	Kaizad Gustad
Written by	Kaizad Gustad
Starring	Tara Deshpande Naveen Andrews Rahul Bose Alexander Gifford Naseeruddin Shah Roshan Seth Luke Kenny
Cinematography	Kramer Morgenthau
Edited by	Priya Krishnaswamy
Music by	Dhruv Ghanekar Ashutosh Pathak
Release date	25 December 1998 (1998-12-25)
Running time	105 min.
Country	India
Language	English

Synopsis

The three meet for the first time at Mumbai's airport and decide to find a place together. In the course of the movie, Krishna finds out that, in order to break into the local film industry, he must first win the (decidedly risky) patronage of Don Mastana, a godfather of the Mumbai underworld who's also a film producer. Mastana is a violent man who thinks nothing of impaling a lizard with a knife or shattering the skull of a fellow crime boss for making a pass at his girlfriend.

Ricardo, the serious-looking Australian, finds out the sad fate of his brother, but also manages to fall in love with Mastana's spunky moll Dolly, igniting further flames. Xerxes, who's a Parsi, is led to embrace his latent homosexuality by their gay landlord.

Cast

• Naveen Andrews - Krishna Sahni
• Rahul Bose - Ricardo Fernandes
• Alexander Gifford - Xerxes Mistry
• Naseeruddin Shah - Don Mastana
• Tara Deshpande - Dolly
• Roshan Seth - Pesi
• Tarun Shahani - Danny
• Luke Kenny - Xavier
• Vinay Pathak - Spot-boy turned director
• Kushal Punjabi - Asif
• Javed Jaffrey - Special appearance in item song "MUMBHAI"
• Nagesh Bhosle - Cherry Blossom Kalia

Production

Bombay Boys, which took four years to complete, was filmed on location in Mumbai's bars, slums and markets. The film was made on a limited budget; director Kaizad Gustad financed the film with credit cards as well as by borrowing money from his family and friends.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar and released by Sony Music India.

Bombay Boys
Soundtrack album by Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar
Released	12 August 1998
Recorded	1998
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	40:12
Label	Sony Music India
Producer	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar
Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar chronology
Tamanna (1997) Bombay Boys (1998) Snip! (2000)

Track list

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Mumbhai"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Javed Jaffrey	5:06
2.	"Paisa Paisa Paisa"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Mehnaz	6:11
3.	"Sunoh"	Lucky Ali	5:02
4.	"Mastana's Theme"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Smoke, Naseeruddin Shah	5:04
5.	"Yeah Yeah"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Indus Creed	3:04
6.	"Tabla Dholak"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Vinay Mandke	1:56
7.	"Quest"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Anaida	6:22
8.	"Bombay Blues"	Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Bashir Sheikh	5:01
9.	"Waltzing Matunga"	Merlyn D'Souza, Asif Ali Beg, Mantra	2:26
Total length:			40:12

Critical reception

The film was subjected to criticism for its homosexuality and profanity. Tanmeet Kumar from Planet Bollywood, stated that the film has portrayed India as "Americanized India". Tara Deshpande's performance was praised. Pradeep Sebastian of Deccan Herald wrote that "Going by the crowds flocking to see it, it[']s clear that Indian audiences have begun to expect good things from Indian English films. But this is one they are going to be disappointed with".

External links

• Bombay Boys at IMDb