The Courtesans of Bombay (1983)

Directed by

Ismail Merchant

Genre

documentary film, drama film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 14m

Rating

5.5 of 10 from 6 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A docudrama that observes the daily lives of women in a Bombay compound. By day they dance for male audiences and by night they are suggested to work as prostitutes.

observationalrestrainedatmosphericintimateunhurriedunderstatedevocativesomber

What happens

The Courtesans of Bombay is a 1983 British docudrama directed by Ismail Merchant. A collaboration by Merchant, James Ivory, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The film focuses on a Bombay compound known as Pavan Pool, where women aspiring to work in the entertainment industry dance for donations from a male audience by day and, it is broadly suggested although never specifically stated, work as prostitutes by night. It was broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK in January 1983 and went into limited theatrical release in the United States on 19 March 1986. Merchant was aware of the courtesans (tawaifs) at an early age "from the visits from them we used to have during weddings at home, celebrations of childbirth, and other festivities. They provided the entertainment of singing and dancing, and I used to watch them." His first visit to Pavan Pool at the age of sixteen left him with a vivid memory that inspired him to record the activities and experiences of the courtesans on film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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