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City of Gold is a 2010 Bollywood film released in both Hindi and Marathi languages. The film has been directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, who has directed critically acclaimed films in the past like, Astitva and Viruddh... Family Comes First. The film is adapted from a play by Jayant Pawar, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and explores the life of BOMBAY's mill workers after they were rendered jobless in the early 1980's, when the Bombay mills shut down in the post Great Bombay Textile Strike period, and soon made way for skyscrapers and shopping malls.[1][2]. The film opened to mixed reviews, though it was commended for its theme, and acting.[3][4] The name of the Marathi version of this film is Lalbaug Parel.
The film is a story of a family of mill worker in Bombay. The sufferings of the family & the social environment is well portrayed in the film. City of Gold is a film of Bollywood in the direction of Mahesh Manjrekar. City of Gold releases on 23 April, 2010 in Indian cinemas. City of Gold introduces a story of the forgotten masses of Bombay.
Satish Kaushik as Mama, Siddharth Jhadav as Speed Breaker, Veena Jamkar as Manju, Ganesh Yadav as Parshya Bhai, Sachin Khedekar as Rane, Vineet Kumar as Mohan, Kashmera Shah as Mami, Sameer Dharmadhikari as Mahendra, Shashank Shende as Anna, Karan Patel as Naru, Seema Biswas as Aai and Ankush Choudhary as Baba are the leading casts of City of Gold film.
City of Gold is directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. Producer of the film is Arn Rangachari.
Official website of City of Gold writes about the film synopsis, “Today, there is hardly anyone who hasn’t visited the swanky shopping malls, nightclubs, lounge bars, clubs and other such lifestyle destinations that sprung up across the centre of Bombay.
However, very few know that buried deep below theses glittering edifices to consumerism lies the dark, dirty and painful reality of many thousands of mill workers who once worked the cotton mills in this very same area. Rising and toiling to the wail of the cotton mills in this very same area. Rising and toiling to the wail of the mill sirens each and every day, seven days a week, these workers embodied the true unbridled zeal and unflagging spirit of the city and played a pivotal role in the evolution of Bombay as the modern day business capital of India.
And then it suddenly was if they never existed. Following the mill workers strike in the mid-80s, these mills began closing down rapidly and the mill-workers mysteriously disappeared. What happened to them, and where they went is one of the most shameful secrets that the city of Bombay will have to bear for generations, one that until now has always been spoken about in hushed whispers.
City of Gold – the story of these long-forgotten masses not only explores the apathy of these mill workers narrated through the story of one such family, but is also a take-no-prisoners account of the birth of the true underbelly of organized crime in Bombay.
The film traces the birth of the politics of greed in Mumbai and exposes the unholy collusion between the triumvirate of big business, the political establishment and the trade union leaders who ostensibly were charged with protecting the rights of the mill workers. In the two decades that followed, the entire landscape of Central Bombay was changed forever. Land became the currency of growth, and this began the systematic extinction of mills in Bombay. In a matter of just a few years, hundreds of thousands of workers lost their means of livelihood. Having worked in these mills from generation to generation, this was the only vocation that they knew.
Many left Bombay and went back to their ancestral homes, some others chose to stay back and fight what they soon realized was a losing battle, some took the extreme step of ending their miserable lives, and still some others took to a world of crime.
Truth as is said, is stranger than fiction. But the truth that the film uncovers is not just stranger but darker and dirtier than any mind has ever imagined. Produced by DAR Motion Pictures and from the director of dark and realistic films like Vaastav – Mr Mahesh Manjrekar, City of Gold takes another trip down memory lane... just that this time around the result is a much more heart wrenching, soul stirring and shocking film about human avarice and apathy.
The film doesn't provide any direct solutions. Yet it shatters many a myth and raises many a question which only the passage of time will provide answers to...
Director of the film - Mahesh Manjrekar writes in the director notes about City of Gold, "City of Gold should be the story of the evolution of any modern day city. It's the story of the forgotten masses on whose sweat and blood the modern day swanky malls and glittering multiplexes are built. In simple terms it is the untold story behind the Mumbai that we live and work in today. I have lived all my life in Bombay and in these past several years I, like so many other Mumaikars, have seen the city evolve, through its numerous trails and tribulations. I grew up in the heart of Mumbai in an area called Wadala not fal from Lalbaug – Parel which still many recall as The Land of Mills."
He writes about his directorial interest towards City of Gold as, "When I took a sabbatical from Hindi cinema close to four years ago, I promised myself that if and only if an exceptional subject came my way would I venture back to do a Hindi film. City of Gold is that subject."
In a recent interview, Mahesh Manjrekar accepts that City of Gold is 100 ft ahead of Vaastav. However, Mahesh Manjrekar came in light as filmmaker with Vaastav film. City of Gold introduces the condition of city's mill workers in 80s. However, Vaastav had introduced harsh realities of the life in the Bombay underworld.
City of Gold is also set in the background of the changing socio-political atmosphere just like Vaastav. The film examines the birth of organized crime also.
There are some other Hollywood films also with the same name - Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986), City of Gold (1957) and The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
City of Gold raises many questions and issues about mill workers of 80s in Mumbai.
Story of the film introduces many facts about the condition of mill workers in 80s. The film has tried to raise an issue for the justice of forgotten masses, the mill workers.
City of Gold is a realistic film that introduces a story of a land that becomes the currency of growth. City of Gold states a story of those who worked in these mills from generation to generation.
City of Gold is a story about thousands of workers and end of their livelihoods. The film has tried to introduce the life conditions of thousands of jobless mill workers who left Bombay and went back to their ancestral homes. You will watch the birth of a world of crime in Bombay in this film.
City of Gold raises some questions on the injustice of mill workers of 80s in Bombay. The film has tried to introduce the truth behind a modern city like Bombay.
City of Gold is not only about Bombay. It says about almost all modern cities like Bombay. However, its starting point as a symbol is also Bombay just like Apartment film.
City of Gold has tried to introduce a situation just like novel The Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich Engels. Story of the film has covered the biggest aspect of human being's life.
City of Gold raises only facts and questions about the injustice of mill workers in Bombay. But the film has not given any logical solutions about the injustice. The film has not blame state or capitalist system directly. Yes, it is a realistic film but not a logical or rational film against the current system.
