Bombay Rose (2019)

Technically, Bombay Rose is flawless. I don't watch many animation movies, but watching stuff like this makes me wish I did. This film has such a gentle, soothing effect- a sensation that is heightened by the beautiful music that accompanies the paintings on screen. The Rewa song and the Konkani song were the highlights of the movie for me. The fact that they were used as refrains added more depth to their respective characters' journeys, and made me fall a little more in love with the movie than I would have without their repeated use.

My problem with the story is that it tried to take up too many issues in such a short space of time (the film is one and a half hours long) and as a result, it couldn't offer more than a shallow perspective on any issue. Let me just try to recap the list of socio-political problems this movie tries to deal with: communalism, sex work, poverty, physical disabilities, the Kashmir issue, and of course, the loneliness that accompanies ageing. It's a strange mish-mash, and doesn't entirely live up to what it promises. In fact, there seems to be a lack of clarity about what the film seems to be promising anyway. It's beautiful to look at, yes, but is that enough? I couldn't help but feel that had they scaled down the proportions of the issues they were addressing, it probably would have worked. 

In conclusion, watching this is self-care if you just focus on the visuals and the music and turn your brain right off. Also, Miss D'souza is going to be my future, I can see it from here in my 20s. 

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