Bombay Rose Analysis

Bombay Rose (2019)

Written, Edited, Designed and Directed by: Gitanjali Rao
Premiered at Venice & screened at TIFF 2019. 

The first aspect we look at animated films is the visuals, but this film made the experience immersive for me because of the excellent sound design. It turns out that the sound design is by Manoj M. Goswami (whose credits include Baahubali 1 & 2). The sounds of the crowd, her payal as she walks, the sounds of traffic/auto horns, cycle bells - all of this together adds in establishing the setting, the city in a better way. The usage of music was also adding to the tone of the film, and her character - it has a sense of romantic nostalgia to it. Whenever I watch an animated/stop motion film - my first question is, what would I miss in the film if this were to be a live-action film? Because then we know that the choice of the form had some purpose. This film first had a lot of innocence to the vibe of the film, which they achieved with the kind of imagery that is used. Also, the transitions from the reality to her dreams, where her costume changes seamlessly - all such sequences had to be done with either match cuts or jump cuts or very elaborate VFX.

An interesting learning I had from a friend is that they use different frame rates for different subjects in the same frame to convey something. It could apparently be used to show a character being internally conflicted and not being with a clear sense of identity. Small observations, minute moments feel so beautiful in animated films - for example, when Tara gets slapped by Kamala - the young boy's eyelids move from him looking away to this side - without turning his head because he doesn't want to further create problems. Just the eyelids move, and it's such a beautiful moment. Also, I've learnt that the set designs are so elaborate in detail that people can recognize locations like bars, and roads in Bombay from just watching the film. It's such a bittersweet film - I personally don't like too sweet and chocolate stuff - there has to be some pain in even feel good films. The film left me with mixed feelings, emotions, and strong images.