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Brian Hill

Sam Benstead

Liesel Evans

Century Films Ltd

Mumbai High: The Musical

Documentaries

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Mumbai High

14/09/2015

BBC Four - Mumbai High: The Musical

Documentary musical set in a school in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai.

Documentary musical set in a school in Dharavi, the biggest slum in Asia. A combination of music, dance and observational footage, following five children in their daily lives.

A dizzying and unique musical extravaganza. Set in a school in Dharavi, Mumbai - the biggest slum in Asia - it combines observational footage of the children's daily lives, with songs reflecting their hopes and dreams.

Fourteen-year-old Mary lives with her parents and two sisters on the pavement of a busy road. They have a rudimentary shelter and they all sleep on the floor, sometimes with rats running over them. Mary and the other characters have their dreams and ambitions and believe they can achieve them through education. They are clever, bright, motivated and they sing!  

This is no ordinary documentary, this is the very first Bollywood-style documentary musical. Mixed in with the traditional observational footage of the school are specially composed and choreographed song and dance numbers which the children (and teachers!) perform with incredible skill and charm.  

No film has ever been made like this, it's a perfect way to capture the unbreakable optimism and exuberance of youth. But this is not a depressing examination of extreme poverty, it's an uplifting celebration of human spirit and endeavour, and it sets out to tell a wider tale of India.

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