Several Bollywood films that premiered in Toronto recently drew unique portraits of Mumbai, besides redefining the boundaries of Hindi cinema, writes Saibal Chatterjee

Mumbai cinema is on the move. A new creative sensibility is rapidly taking roots in one segment of the industry. Another part of Bollywood continues to revel in unabashedly populist films like Dabangg and Housefull.

While the potboilers understandably receive thunderous support from the masses, the mint-fresh, uniquely inflected narratives crafted by the likes of debutante director Kiran Rao and Bollywood’s resident rule-breaker Anurag Kashyap serve to bolster the stocks of Indian cinema on the global stage.

At the recent 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Kiran Rao’s sensitive, smart and self-assured Dhobi Ghat and Kashyap’s characteristically quirky and dark That Girl in Yellow Boots garnered much applause as much for what they are as for what they aren’t.

This remarkable brace of cinematic essays, both set in the heart of Mumbai, represent the emerging new face of Hindi cinema. And the world is losing no opportunity to embrace them with spontaneous enthusiasm. Peopled by tangible characters, shot on actual locations and rooted in real, believable situations, these two films are in a league of their own.

In the evocative yet disturbing That Girl in Yellow Boots, Kashyap explores the Mumbai thriller terrain in his own inimitable way. "The idea was to give the film a completely real feel," says the director. "The characters speak their dialogues amid the sounds of Mumbai traffic."

That Girl in Yellow Boots is about a half-British girl (played by the director’s real-life partner and co-screenwriter Kalki Koechlin) who, while searching for her Indian father, who she has never seen before, runs into a world where brazen exploitation is the name of the game. She works in a seedy massage parlour, where everyday, every customer poses a new challenge.

In the dark alleys of Mumbai, as a foreigner, the protagonist is up against a corrupt system that makes her pay for every favour that she derives from it. In order to navigate her way through the city’s putrid underbelly, she plays along.

Says Kashyap of the character: "She realises that her only hope of getting through the ordeal is to play along with the shadowy figures that are out to exploit her."

According to Kalki, she drew inspiration from her real-life experiences as a foreigner in India to fill in the details.

"Anurag narrated the broad outline of the story to me, and I wrote the screenplay in the manner of a play. I fleshed out the characters and made them feel as real as possible," says Kalki, whose writing credits include the stage production, Skeleton Woman.

Kashyap and Kalki’s roots do not lie in Mumbai. Yet, they invest the dark thriller with a mood that is essentially and genuinely Mumbai. The city provides both the backdrop and the stimulation for the screenplay. That Girl in Yellow Boots is Kashyap’s most controlled film to date. It possesses none of the restlessness of Dev D. "The style is dictated by the substance," says the director.

In Dhobi Ghat, Kiran Rao, wife of Aamir Khan, is in full control of her creative faculties as she delivers, in her own words, "a love letter to Mumbai". The film provides a unique view of Mumbai seen through the eyes of the ordinary people, who keep the city going come rain or shine.

"It is the heavy rain that makes Mumbai so special. It washes away months of grime and enthuses people to let themselves go and drench themselves in the magic of the monsoon until, of course, it triggers all the problems that are associated with a heavy downpour," says Rao.

Dhobi Ghat has been shot in different formats on actual locations in Mumbai, including the congested Mohammed Ali Road. "That is why I was initially very reluctant to cast a big star in the film," the first-time director says.

The presence of Aamir Khan in the cast lends a film a certain commercial viability, but it does not in any way dilute the film’s essentially austere vision. Such is the immediacy of the portrayal of the city and its people that one can almost touch, feel and smell the environs: pure, pungent, and profound.

Dhobi Ghat is a subtle and stylish film that makes a quiet political statement. "Mumbai is home to 14 million of us," says Rao. "And more arrive on the city’s shores every day to make their lives and fortunes. The energies of these diverse peoples and their hopes coalesce into something electric and unique. The city has a life of its own — throbbing, vital and inclusive. This is what inspired the film."

In spirit the film is, however, poles apart from run-of-the-mill cinematic tributes to Mumbai. The writing is crunchy and earnest, and the principal characters are well rounded and primed to evoke empathy.

Says Rao: "Dhobi Ghat is not the usual song and dance film. It is closer to world cinema in spirit. And it is not only about Aamir Khan, but about four characters." Kiran Rao sure knows how she wants to use the medium and its message.

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