It’s a fact… Cinema and cricket are pursued with religious fervor in India. Cinema connects us. Cinema unites us. Cinema is indeed the predominant influence on our lives. Cinema is, without doubt, an integral part of every movie lover… Indian cinema, which completes its 100th year this year [RAJA HARISHCHANDRA, the first full-length feature-film made by Dadasaheb Phalke, was released in 1913], ought to be commemorated. What better way than four avant garde film-makers combining forces to pay respect to cinema — Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap. Backed by Viacom18, the four prolific film-makers set out to narrate stories that are unconventional, borrowed from real life, about the common man. Also, each of those stories has a reference to Indian cinema/stars.

The four stories in BOMBAY TALKIES — made at a stipulated budget of Rs 1.5 cr each, the duration not exceeding 20/25 minutes — are entwined in one film. Of course, experiments like this, when one or multiple raconteurs join hands to narrate distinctive stories, aren’t new. Recall DARNA MANA HAI [2003; Prawaal Raman narrated a series of six stories in one film], DARNA ZAROORI HAI [2006; seven directors narrating seven different stories], SALAAM-E-ISHQ [2007; six love stories helmed by Nikhil Advani] and DUS KAHANIYAAN [2007; ten stories narrated by six directors]…

A film like BOMBAY TALKIES gives an opportunity to film-makers to step out of their comfort zone and try to create something novel.