Millions are familiar with the approach, look and feel of Bollywood films. But what transpires behind the scenes of a Bollywood production? That's the question proposed and answered by Liz Mermin in her penetrative documentary Shot in Bombay. The title represents a triple-entendre: it refers to both the actual shooting of a film (in this case, a Bollywood gangster movie), the simulated gunfire in the film-within-the-film, and some of the shady activity that belies the creation of Indian populist cinema (with more than ...
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Millions are familiar with the approach, look and feel of Bollywood films. But what transpires behind the scenes of a Bollywood production? That's the question proposed and answered by Liz Mermin in her penetrative documentary Shot in Bombay. The title represents a triple-entendre: it refers to both the actual shooting of a film (in this case, a Bollywood gangster movie), the simulated gunfire in the film-within-the-film, and some of the shady activity that belies the creation of Indian populist cinema (with more than passing ties to the Bombay underworld). Mermin plunges into the world of the said production, and intercuts several real-life narratives involving the cast and crew, which include: the efforts of the tyro director to launch his first production; the narration of a real life ex-cop slapped with the moniker "Bombay's Dirty Harry," who details the rise of the Bollywood criminal underground for the audience; and the complicated life of Indian screen idol Sanjay Dutt, enmeshed in a criminal trial for allegedly participating in a massive and deadly terrorist attack. Nathan Southern, Rovi
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