Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 13 wins & 8 nominations total
Ram Murthy
- Mad Man
- (as Ram Moorti)
Sarfuddin Qureshi
- Koyla
- (as Sarfuddin Quarassi)
Anita Kanwar
- Rekha Golub
- (as Aneeta Kanwar)
Krishna Thapa
- Nepali Middleman
- (as Kishan Thapa)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIrrfan Khan made an appearance in this film as a writer, one of his first appearances.
- GoofsThe day Chaipav escapes the Child Reformation Home, the Superintendent and his assistant are watching the Semi-Final of the 1987 Cricket World Cup (as evident from the commentary), which was held on 5th November, 1987. But when Chaipav returns to the red-light district the same day, a procession can be seen carrying a huge Ganpati idol, so the day must be Ganesh Chaturthi (installation day) or Anant Chaturdashi (Ganpati Visarjan- immersion day). However, in 1987, the dates for Ganesh Chaturthi and Anant Chaturdashi were 28th August and 6th September, respectively. Thus, the semi-final and Ganesh Chaturthi/Visarjan did not take place on the same day.
- Quotes
Rekha Golub: [To Baba] Just like a customer.
- Crazy creditsEnding credits: no guts no glory 52 locations 52 days what problem? no problem
Featured review
Lost Childhoods
A brilliant but sad film in which we follow abandoned Krishna on his quest to make enough money to return to his village. Along the way we meet the street kids, prostitutes, pimps and dealers he shares everyday life with.
An amazing aspect is that all the child actors in the film are real street kids picked after attending workshops run by Nair and friends. In particular the central performances of Krishna, Manju and Coalpiece (his songs!) are superb. Despite their hardships there are some great moments when you see glimpses of the playful kids within.
The film never wanders into over-sentimentality and at times its hard to believe you're not watching a documentary. Hindi-film music and escapism seeps into everyday life, actors mingle with ordinary people and the whole film is shot in real locations around Mumbai that just drip with atmosphere. This sadly includes the chiller room which was filmed as they found it along with the soul-crushing 'Flowers that never bloom' prayer.
The story wanders and can be slow but this only serves to draw you into their world and leave you sad and angry at the end - at the loss of childhood for these kids and countless others. Still relevant today.
An amazing aspect is that all the child actors in the film are real street kids picked after attending workshops run by Nair and friends. In particular the central performances of Krishna, Manju and Coalpiece (his songs!) are superb. Despite their hardships there are some great moments when you see glimpses of the playful kids within.
The film never wanders into over-sentimentality and at times its hard to believe you're not watching a documentary. Hindi-film music and escapism seeps into everyday life, actors mingle with ordinary people and the whole film is shot in real locations around Mumbai that just drip with atmosphere. This sadly includes the chiller room which was filmed as they found it along with the soul-crushing 'Flowers that never bloom' prayer.
The story wanders and can be slow but this only serves to draw you into their world and leave you sad and angry at the end - at the loss of childhood for these kids and countless others. Still relevant today.
helpful•110
- rl400
- Jan 22, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Hello Bombay!
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,080,046
- Gross worldwide
- $2,080,758
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