Synopsis
Shot In Bombay is a fast-paced, often surreal documentary that goes beyond the tinselly glamour of Bollywood to reveal the industry's darker dramas. In December 2006, superstar Sanjay Dutt was convicted of possessing firearms linked to India's 9/11 Ð the day in 1993 when Mumbai suffered 13 bomb-blasts in two hours. Full of sudden reversals, the documentary follows Dutt as he makes his last film before being sentenced: 'Shootout In Lokhandwala'. He plays a real-life police officer, A. A. Khan, who became a hero by leading a fatal 'encounter' with gangsters in which 3000 rounds of ammunition were fired. Shot in Bombay subtly underlines the ironies of this situation, with as colourful a cast as any Bollywood movie. There's the director of 'Shootout', Apoorvia Lakhia; with dozens of tattoos and two flops to his credit, he is embarking on an action movie with a big star cast and many egos to stroke. Having waited four months for Dutt to become free, Lakhia has 3 weeks to finish shooting his movie - and he needs a hit. There's A. A. Khan, 'Bombay's Dirty Harry', who narrates the city's history of crime and punishment. Minor characters, from co-stars to stunt-men, fill out the cast. Along the way it touches on a wider question facing Mumbai's citizens: what rights do suspected criminals have, and does the justice system favour the rich? Shot in Bombay is an unusual portrait of a complicated metropolis where fact and fiction are inextricably entwined. ~SxSW 2008