Bombay - a city between dreams and reality

Bombay was named Bom Bahia (good bay) by the Portuguese in the 16th century, in 1995 the name was officially changed to Mumbai after the Hindu goddess Mumbadeva. One of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world is also the financial heart of India, as 70 percent of Indian economic transactions are concluded there, and part of the industry is also Bollywood - the film and television industry with super-rich stars; some of them really broke into the world of fame from the streets, which makes Bolly Wood's stories even more romantic.

Between film and reality
While driving or walking through the streets of Mumbai, it is easy to come across at least one shooting location of the latest Bollywood movie. Bombay's streets and landmarks are mostly clean and empty in movies. Of course, this is not the case in reality, but overpopulation and ubiquitous poverty are not obstacles that would prevent us from visiting the city. According to some predictions, Bombay will be the most populated city in the world by 2015, in which we need to spend some time to discover its real charms. Bombay is a city of contrasts: aggressively modern yet almost medieval in some parts, glamorous and desperately poor, cosmopolitan yet typically Indian. We will discover an interesting contrast during a walk through Colaba, an area with streets full of sellers of tobacco, fruit, kitsch, money changers and soothsayers.

Just a few minutes' walk from the crowded streets, in a quiet residential area of Colaba, you will find beautiful British buildings, but mostly in a sad state. If we want peace, we will find it in Bombay right in this area. One of the sights that UNESCO has taken under its protection are the caves on the island of Elephanta, whose basalt walls are full of cave paintings from 15 centuries ago. The boats that take us to Elephanta every half hour start and end their journey at another typical monument of Bombay - the "Gateway to India". The neighborhood where we will more easily meet Bollywood stars and fashion enthusiasts is Bandra, about an hour's drive from the city center. Luxury residential complexes, hotels, restaurants and boutiques along the sea coast cannot overshadow the true face of India: dirty streets, rickshaws and thousands of cars, which make walking on the streets even more difficult with their exhausts. Nightlife and shopping malls make Bandra popular especially on weekends. We must take at least a few hours, if not the whole day, to walk around Chowpatty Beach. Street vendors, sipping drinks on the shore and watching the sunset will mostly calm us down, and one of the most beautiful places to watch the city light up is Marine Drive (also known as The Queen Necklace), a wide horseshoe-shaped avenue that winds through Back Bay. On a clear evening, we can watch the lights of Malabar Hill, one of the richest neighborhoods in the city, rising above Chowpatty Beach, across the bay, forget the Hollywood glitz and easily move into one of the Bollywood movies.

The world of demigods
A black limousine pulls up in front of an elegantly lit entrance. Camera flashes go off as the doors of the limousine open and the hottest celebrity couple of the moment step out, hiding behind big dark glasses. They rush past photographers and fans into the safe embrace of an exclusive club, in which, on the way to their table, to the tune of the DJ's podium, the eyes of everyone present follow them. It feels like we're reading the pages of an American billboard, but the stars are not Brad and Angelina, but Saif Ali Khan and Kerena Kapoor, and the story takes place not in Los Angeles, but in Bombay. Such and similar scenes are increasingly common in this ever-growing city. Just like Hollywood, Bollywood has produced some big names as new multiplexes and increased presence in the international market have given a significant boost to the Indian film industry. The new wealth and globalization that swept Indian cinema also affected the culture. The stars have the status of demigods with hundreds of paparazzi constantly following them, so naturally they look for opportunities to escape to the exclusive restaurants and clubs that are opening in Bombay. And in a city where the population increases by 42 every hour, which means almost half a million more people every year, the stars are truly mega stars.

Bollywood Vs. Hollywood
In 2007, Bollywood produced and made more than 1,000 films (Hollywood made only 594) and the most famous Bollywood actors earn more than one million US dollars per film, which are unfathomable sums for Indian conditions, especially when we know that the average Bolly – the Wood star makes five or more films a year. One star who is an international fan is Shah Rukh Khan, and wherever he appears, he is followed by the paparazzi, often at Olive Bar & Kitchen, Bombay's hottest restaurant, which has an Italian-Mediterranean feel with a blue-and-white interior. The next target? Karishma Kapoor, who is often spotted shopping for jewelery at Shoba Asar and designer masterpieces at Bombay Electric.

Comfort for the poor
A typical Bollywood scenario goes something like this: a boy from a Bombay slum meets a girl from a wealthy neighborhood. The girl is supposed to get married, but the boy kills the groom. A boy was also killed in the duel. When the girl visits relatives in Sydney, Australia, she meets the boy's identical twin. The brothers were separated at birth. The twin spent his childhood in Calcutta, where he grew up as a prince. A girl and a twin fall in love, everyone is happy. Since Bollywood films are musicals, with a lot of song and dance, the couple appears in at least three different outfits between each song and changes the environment: from Australian beaches, through the campus of Delhi Universe, Egyptian pyramids, to the Swiss Alps. The more the mountain, the better. The climax is a large and luxurious wedding, but if the filmmakers can include in the film a song of satisfied villagers at the harvest, success is guaranteed. In the center of Bombay, in the largest shantytown in Asia, called Dharavi, according to some calculations, as much as 60 percent of the Bombay population lives, and it is for them that the fairy tale world of song and dance is an escape from the everyday dirt and poverty that surrounds them.