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Bombay Talkies

Bombay Talkies Poster

Critic Rating

6.9

17 Reviews
15 Ratings
93%
in favor

Audience Rating

6.5
2 Reviews
18 Ratings

Movie Info

Language

Hindi

Synopsis

Bombay Talkies is a 2013 Indian anthology film consisting of four short films, directed by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar. The film released on May 3, 2013, coinciding with and celebrating the centenary year of Indian cinema and the beginning of a new era in modern cinema. It will be screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Wikipedia

Bombay Talkies Reviews

7

There's no denying that 'Bombay Talkies' is a breath of fresh air - a wonderful gift to audiences on the 100th birthday of Indian cinema. I'm going with three and half out of five for 'Bombay Talkies'. Through four consummate storytellers, we're reminded just how much the movies mean to us.

Shubhra Gupta
Indian Express

7

Bombay Talkies is a film that gives you what all good films should: it has stories, it has emotion, and it has drama. It has people you want to know.

Khalid Mohamed
Deccan Chronicle

6

'Bombay Talkies' is made by four directors who don’t seem to be on speaking terms with each other. Their films don’t hand the baton to the next one. Each one dwells in its own universe, gyrating mostly on the director’s pet peeve.

Anupama Chopra
Hindustan Times

8

Bombay Talkies is a unique experiment that works very well. The collaboration between four leading directors suggests a confidence that was rare in the industry even a decade ago. I believe that things can only get better from here on.

Bombay Talkies may or may not celebrate cinema in the direct sense. Except for its hopelessly tacky end-credits -- a complete waste of star power and resources, Bombay Talkies is an absorbing ode to the language of cinema that is part of our collective system. It honours the imagination and enthusiasm that attracts so many young men and women in this country to embrace a life of risk and rush – filmmaking.

Such moments of epiphany are rare in Bombay Talkies. One is left with the feeling that a once-in-a-century cinematic experiment should have had more heart and heft.

Srijana Mitra Das
Times Of India

7

So, BT's a good experiment, celebrating movies, mindsets and Mumbai's moods - but it isn't the coolest film doing so. Woh picture abhi baaqi hai, mere dost.

Bombay Talkies is a format that needs to be praised for its concept. The sequencing of the stories works and the pace is swift, never showing signs of lethargy. If this was a tribute to 100 years of cinema, then we need to have an array of directors from different genres pay such homages more often.

7

Bombay Talkies is a novel concept, glistening with bravura short films. With the script predominating the film’s flavor, it is a sincere attempt to provide a Eulogy for Bollywood. The passion and craze for cinema in India dictates most part of the film. Here’s a piece of advice -Walk out of the hall before the 20 star song. The bromidic and hackneyed feeling it leaves by, spoils the entire beauty the film distinctively weaves all through. I am going with 3.5/5 for Bombay Talkies. It could have been way more entertaining, but overall it comes across as a perseverant effort!

7

Bombay Talkies lets us celebrate ourselves as viewers. It leaves a warm afterglow reminding us that cinema in India flourished thanks to its audience.

Taran Adarsh
Bollywood Hungama

8

On the whole, BOMBAY TALKIES is one of those infrequent movies wherein you get to eyeball the superior efforts of four top notch film-makers in less than two hours. This reality alone makes the film a compelling watch, while the superior performances and absorbing themes that the movie prides itself in only serve as an icing on the cake. This celebration of cinema is a must watch!

Rummana Ahmed
Yahoo! India

8

‘Bombay Talkies’ boasts of superb craft; crisp writing, skillful direction and brilliant performances. Four directors, four stories, one film; is there a common thread? Maybe.

6

Bombay Talkies plays out dreams in four separate films. Each film is a mirror to a different reality of Mumbai. Each film is a reflection of different memories of Bombay.

5

There's not much to savor except the brilliance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui. If only for his performance and a brief cameo in the same frame by Sadashiv Amrapurkar, you will not mind walking in.

Reviewer Profile
Firstpost

-

The combination will remind you why you love the movies and why you still return to the theatre week after week, wide-eyed and hopeful in spite of the tripe we too often have to endure. If you must fault Bombay Talkies for something, perhaps one could complain that for a 100-year celebration, it isn’t weighty enough, but that’s about all.

...after you have left the theatre, it is not gratification you feel, but the short-lived aftertaste of a music video or a good commercial. It eulogizes Bollywood, sure, but in a Bollywood-crazy nation it is like preaching to the converted. Surely there is more to the desire, madness, ugliness and fantasy in Hindi cinema, and to the millions who work here. If you wait to watch the terrible promotional video at the end of the film, satrring all our stars, you will most likely forget the best of Bombay Talkies.

Audience Reviews for Bombay Talkies

  • Shashwat Sisodia
    Shashwat Sisodia
    300 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    8

    'Bombay Talkies' is one of the most brilliantly executed cinematic experiences this year. It is a recollection of memories with amazing direction and superb storytelling.
    Despite the low box office rate 'despite' a heavy starcast, Bombay Talkies was a special film because it didn't give time to find loopholes. Directed by Karan Johar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap, it is a collection of four short films (or may I say stories?) which aptly describe the themes of sensation, homosexuality, talent, fandom and superstardom. This is a perfect movie for those who love movies, by those who make movies. It has deft, pulsating writing with amazing rhythm. It's 4 stars for 'Bombay Talkies'.

    October 08, 19
  • Saheb Abdullah
    Saheb Abdullah
    82 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    6

    We Should Have More Director Collaborations Like This..

    May 10, 16