rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
The film’s opening sequence sets the tone for the themes the film will later explore and also points to the director’s affection for the documentary format – Kapadia’s earlier work had been documentaries. A night of not knowing anything. Kapadia understands how to imagine the story of a subject while keeping the reins of the narrative in her hands and this is one of her greatest strengths as a director.
We imagine everything as lightThe opening sequence of ‘Mumbai’ sets up the story before setting it up. Everyone and everything is constant, constant flux makes everything impermanent. We catch snippets of conversation, which further add to the urban loneliness at the film’s core. Love, loneliness and togetherness are constant themes in the film.
Prabha is quiet and reclusive – she spends most of her time at work or in her rented house. Her husband left for Germany a few days after the wedding and no longer even calls – ‘Maybe he has nothing to say,’ she says. In contrast, Anu is full of energy; His enthusiasm bordered on innocence. She enjoys the freedom that the city gives her and is very happy living in that place with her boyfriend Shiaz (Hridu Haroon).
Parvati’s fight for stability, meanwhile, is more concrete than others – she faces eviction from her house at the hands of the builders if she cannot get proof of ownership. Their personal struggles bind all three women together, particularly in how their identities contribute to how and how much they can fight their circumstances.
Parvati’s identity as a woman cannot be separated from her fight – she is so alienated from the possibility of her own home that, once widowed, she is unable to even get the papers for the hut .
