Shafiq Syed
Geeta Dutt
"Salaam Bombay!" is one of those
exceptional coming-of-age movies that seems to have dropped off of
everyone's cinematic radar, which is a shame, as it was skillfully directed, and co-written
by Mira Nair. "Salaam Bombay!" chronicles the day-to-day life of
children living on the streets of Bombay, and focuses specifically on
Krishna/Chaipau, played so artfully by Shafiq Syed. Interestingly
enough though, most of the young actors who appeared in "Salaam Bombay!"
were actual street
children. They received dramatic training at a special workshop
organized, and hosted in
Bombay by Mira Nair before the actual shooting of the film began. The haunting soundtrack of "Salaam Bombay!" was composed and performed by Indian violinist L. (Lakshminarayana) Subramaniam. One of the coolest scenes in Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay!" is when Shafiq Syed (Krishna/Chaipau), dances "Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo (My Name Is Chin Chin Choo)", with a young friend. It is absolutely charming and irresistible. Unfortunately though, few people remember where that delightful song came from. Well, it was from the 1958 movie "Howrah Bridge", that starred the great Indian actress/singer Geeta Dutt. In this edition of Kasalba's Bistro I am featuring the original version of "Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo" from "Howrah Bridge" with the immortal Geeta Dutt singing and dancing for your amazement and enjoyment. Safe journeys to all the fans of Kasalba's Bistro, wherever you may be.
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