Bombay Boys

Synopsis

The three meet each other 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 (Naseeruddin Shah), 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 (Tara Deshpande), igniting further flames. Xerxes, who's a Parsi, is led to embrace his latent homosexuality by their gay landlord (Roshan Seth).

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.

Cast

Critical reception

The film was subjected to criticism for its homosexuality and profanity. Film critic Yashodhara Pawar stated the film as "The harmful and immature portrayal of ethnic groups in films is an issue for not just South Asians in the global media but also the local and tribal productions in individual countries.". Another film critic Tanmeet Kumar from Planet Bollywood, stated that the film has portrayed India as "Americanized India". Tara Deshpande's performance was praised.