| Bombay March 12 | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster |
|
| Directed by | Babu Janardhan |
| Produced by | Haneef Muhammed |
| Written by | Babu Janardhanan |
| Starring | Mammootty Roma Unni Mukundan |
| Music by | Songs: Afzal Yusuf Background score: Prashant Pillai |
| Cinematography | Vipin Mohan |
| Editing by | Vijay Shankar |
| Studio | Red Rose Creations |
| Distributed by | Red Rose Release |
| Release date(s) | June 30, 2011[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Bombay March 12 is a 2011 Indian historical thriller / drama film based on the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts.[2][3] The film marks the directorial debut of noted screenwriter Babu Janardhan.[4] Mammootty, Roma and Unni Mukundan play the lead roles. Originally filmed in Malayalam, the film will be dubbed and released in Tamil and Telugu.The film has its narrative in a hyperlink format. It opened on 30 June in theatres to positive reviews by critics.
Contents |
The story revolves around Sanathana Bhat (Mammootty), a Hindu priest, who later converts to Islam and becomes Sameer, a Municipality worker. He gets married to Abidha (Roma), a young Muslim woman from a village in Kerala. Sameer, who works as a sweeper with the Alappuzha Municipality, is always on tenterhooks because he is on the police radar whenever there is trouble or an act of terror occurs. Later it is revealed that his brother-in-law Shahjahan (Unni Mukundan) was suspected to be part of the terror team that had planted bombs in Bombay in 1993 and was later killed in an encounter with the Army in Andhra Pradesh.
The narrative moves back and forth, slowly connecting Sameer with Shahjahan who had gone to Bombay as an IT professional, from whom much was expected by his family. The innocent youngster gets entangled in the web of a terror group and goes into hiding fearing the safety of his loved ones. Sameer and Abidha have premonitions about the bomb blasts, which change the course of their lives forever.
Sameer, one of the two characters played by Mammooty in the film, is inspired by the People’s Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani's long incarceration as an under-trial in a Tamil Nadu jail. Likewise, Sameer also spends nine and a half years in jail as an accused in a blast case and is finally acquitted of all charges. The director says that the film transmits not just the trauma of Madani but of every under-trial who had to undergo long imprisonment. "Only the core idea is taken from real life and the rest is fiction. Madani is a political leader. But Sameer is presented as an ordinary person", he said.[5]
Unni Mukundan (Krishna), who plays a major supporting role in the film, was formerly working as an assistant to veteran director late A. K. Lohithadas.[6][7] Model-turned-child artiste Babydiya makes her film debut with this film.[8]
The film's production commenced on second week of February (2011) and was completed from Coimbatore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and various parts of Kerala and Rajasthan.[9][10] Originally filmed in Malayalam, it will have dubbed releases in Tamil and Telugu.[11] There is also buzz that the film might be shot in Hindi as well.[12]
The film features an original score composed by Prashant Pillai.[13] He was introduced to Babu Janardhan by director Lijo Jose Pelliserry on the sets of City of God back in December 2010. Babu Janardhan was really amazed at how the soundtrack had shaped up for City of God, which was scripted by him. Later in January Babu Janardhan approached Prashant and asked him to score the background music for the movie. Prashant was initially apprehensive about scoring for the film after learning how sensitive it is and given there is a superstar the music would demand a commercial tone. But Babu Janardhan was kind enough to let him come up with his own creativity. After working on a few templates over a few days, he decided on a template that really set the tempo of the film. He completed the score on 15 June 2011.[14]
The soundtrack to the film is composed by Babu Janardhan's long time friend Afzal Yusuf. Two of the popular Bollywood singers , Sonu Nigam and Sadhana Sargam, have recorded Malayalam songs for this film. While Sadhana Sargam earlier sang "Ponmuzham Thandil" in the same year for the film Oru Nuna Kadha, Sonu Nigam, who already marked his debut in Malayalam in Major Ravi film Kandahar by singing a Hindi song, is singing this Malayalam number for the first time. The song titled "Chakkaramavin Kombathu" has lyrics penned by Rafeeq Ahmed.[15]
All lyrics written by Rafeeq Ahmed.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chakkara Maavin" | Sonu Nigam, Ganesh Sundaram | |
| 2. | "Viriyunnu" | Sadhana Sargam | |
| 3. | "Onaveyil" | M. G. Sreekumar, Soney Sai, Sudheesh | |
| 4. | "Maula Mere" | Kailash Kher | |
| 5. | "Chakkara Maavin" | Sonu Nigam, Soney Sai, Ganesh Sundaram | |
| 6. | "Viriyunnu" | Usha Uthup |
The film received positive reviews upon release.But did not make a big move in box office.Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com said, "Bombay March 12 is a promising debut for scriptwriter Babu Janardhanan as a director." He rated the film three in a scale of five (). Mammootty's performance is appreciated as "one of his most subdued roles in recent times". According to Palicha, Unni Mukundan as Shahjahan "does full justice to the confidence that the director has reposed in him."[16]