In a country as big and populated as India, it is hard to find one city that makes your heart beat like no other. Fortunately for us, people have for the longest time associated Mumbai with a city that is less of a metropolis and more of an emotion.
It is the city of dreams - a place to build, where life can be anything you want it to be. So it is no shocker that most often the Indian film industry is keen on representing the city through various perspectives.
Over the years, films and shows set against the backdrop of Mumbai have only increased. From the lens of a superstar to that of an ordinary person, individual differences about the city and how one might view it and experience their time living in it have been prioritized.
There is no other movie that can start this list but the 1995 Mani Ratnam gem named after the city itself. The film has had an ever-lasting impact on moviegoers of various generations and is still one of the most relevant films when it comes to exploring human relationships against the backdrop of the Indian political scenario.
The Mumbai chapter of this franchise might just be the best one out of the lot that plays with the affectionate as well as the painful side of love and relationships.
The film embodies love, resilience and life and was a commercial success. With its critical claim, the film is one of the best representations of the city and the people that inhabit it.
The film is about the aftermath of the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings where a lot of people lost their lives and even more were injured to death. The film is a gritty watch that takes a turn from the romantic side of the City of Dreams.
This 2014 Hansal Mehta-Rajkummar Rao collaboration was a canon event in the lives of the director, the lead actor and what Mumbai means to people- the ones who dream and drive themselves to this city.