Bombay Talkies

Story:

Bombay Talkies is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language anthology film consisting of four short films, directed by Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. The film released on 3 May 2013, coinciding with and celebrating the 100th year of Indian cinema and the beginning of a new era in modern cinema.] It screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2013.

PLOT

The short film begins with a young man, Avinash, bursting into his house. He wakes his father and pushes him against the wall declaring that he is homosexual and not a eunuch that his parents are ashamed of. He leaves his parents’ house, distraught and heartbroken but ready for a new start. At a train station he passes a little girl at singing “Ajeeb Dastan Hain Ye.”

Gayatri is married to Dev. Gayatri, (who works for a magazine), meets Avinash, the new intern. Avinash informs her that he’s gay and is surprised to see that it doesn’t shock her. They gradually become very close. On his birthday, Gayatri invites Avinash home for dinner. That evening, Gayatri tells Dev that Avinash is gay. Dev seems shocked.

During dinner, Avinash and Dev find that they both share a love for old Hindi films and music. Avinash leans over Dev to look at something on the table and Dev visibly reacts. The next day, Gayatri leaves for some work. Avinash goes to her house to meet Dev. He gives him a CD and then invites him to come out (a funny play on “coming out of the closet”). Avinash takes Dev to meet the little girl who sings “Lag Jaa Gale.” Dev is shocked. He pays the girl a lot of money and asks her what she plans on doing with it. She says she will buy food for her brothers and sisters. He asks her if she’s lying. She curtly replies that she isn’t, and that lying is bad.

By this point, Avinash is sure that Dev is gay, but hasn’t come out of the closet. The next day, he meets Gayatri, who happily informs him that she and Dev had amazing sex the night before. Avinash is disappointed and angry, knowing fully well that he is the reason for Dev’s good mood.
He goes to meet Dev at work. He admits that he took the one-hour journey between the offices just to meet him. Dev is embarrassed and asks him to leave. Avinash reaches over to hug him sensually, alarming Dev. Dev loses his temper and begins to beat Avinash up. Avinash leaves Dev, and goes back home. The beating he received from Dev triggers the memories of his own father attacking him upon discovering his sexuality.

Dev visits Avinash to apologize though he seems torn. After hitting Avinash again, he throws him against the cupboard and kisses him. Again, Dev begins to hit Avinash. Avinash loses his temper and throws Dev out.

Avinash then seeks out Gayatri to tell her that her husband kissed him. Gayatri is infuriated and doesn’t listen to anything else Avinash has to say and goes home. Dev enters and tries to kiss her, but she pushes him away and begins to wipe her face. She tells him that she, now, knows there’s nothing wrong with her but with him, and that he is the reason their marriage failed. She says she’s glad she’s free now and informs him that their relationship is over.

In the final scene, Avinash is sitting on his bed, upset; Dev is standing beside the young girl who is singing, as Gayatri has kicked him out; and Gayatri is putting on make up.

The young girl asks Dev for money and he says that he doesn’t have any. She says that he’s lying. He replies that he isn’t, and lying is bad, mirroring her words from earlier. The irony being, that his whole marriage and life was a lie.