‘Theatres would be burned down if Bombay were released today; India is less tolerant’, says Mani Ratnam classic’s cinematographer Rajiv Menon

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Asked if Manisha Koirala’s character shedding her burqa during the “Tu Hi Re” song was a metaphor for her leaving behind her faith, Rajiv clarified, “We didn’t have props on that set, we just had the fort wall. The location was shown to me by one of my father’s friends, who was a commodore in the Navy. Long after my father died, I insisted on having the anchor as a prop, and her outfit got stuck in it and got caught. It was just this idea that we had about not getting stuck with the same costume. There was this beautiful blue dress, and it would’ve been boring to have just one dress. We didn’t have a dance master or anything.”

Director Mani Ratnam shed some light on his decision to use the most haunting melody that AR Rahman had composed for the scenes involving violence. He said, “For all the violent scenes, we had the score. It’s agony. It is not the drums, it is not the violins that are being underlined, but it is the pain behind the violence.” Rajiv added, “The city was burning. Anybody else would’ve picked (a thrilling score), but what he picked was the emotion of the mother searching for her child. It was essentially a lullaby.”

In a past interview, also with O2 India, Rajiv had recalled Rahman being influenced by faith. The composer was born a Hindu, but converted to Islam some years into his career. Rajiv said, “There was a period they didn’t know Hindi, so I would be the translator. I have seen this period of transition and gravitation towards religion, and belief. I have seen Rahman deal with immense pressure from within the family, especially with the marriages of his sisters. It was music that helped him brave the storm.”