If You Liked 'All We Imagine As Light', Here Are 5 More Mumbai-Centric Homegrown Films

Perhaps no other location has been subjected to greater representation in Indian cinema than Mumbai. Auteurs through the decades have splashed the city over with their own lenses. To me, Mumbai is a patchwork of chaos and wonder — chawls where kids played cricket with broken stumps, glittering Marine Drive promenades, and local trains that pulse with a life of their own. As I've grown older, I can now see my hometown as more than a setting. Mumbai is alive. It's a character, relentless yet tender, unforgiving yet nurturing, a paradox wrapped in smog and sunshine.

For filmmakers who’ve lived and breathed the city, Mumbai is more than a canvas. It’s the very paint, brush, and frame. While Bollywood often romanticizes it as the city of dreams, homegrown cinema digs deeper, peeling back layers of grime and grandeur to reveal its true essence. These films are honest and uncomfortable reflections of a city that shapes its people as much as they shape it.

Here are five films where Mumbai is a protagonist in its own right. These stories — gritty, unpolished, and authentic — capture a city teetering between disarrary and poetry.

Whether you call it Mumbai, Bombay, or Bambai, in these tales you might find a piece of your own city — or even yourself.

Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro dives into the heart of Mumbai's marginalized Muslim neighborhoods. The film follows Salim, a small-time criminal trying to find redemption in a world that offers him few chances. Mumbai’s labyrinthine alleys, the oppressive heat, and the constant hustle serve as the perfect backdrop to Salim’s struggles. The film paints an unvarnished picture of the city’s class and communal divides, exposing the struggles of those left behind by its relentless march toward modernity. The city isn’t just a setting but a force shaping Salim’s choices, both good and bad.

In Nishikant Kamat’s Marathi thriller, Mumbai's suburban railways represent the crushing monotony of middle-class life. Madhav Apte, the protagonist, lives in Dombivli. His daily commute mirrors his growing frustration with corruption, bureaucracy, and societal hypocrisy. The film uses the chaos of the Local, and the suffocating pace of life to amplify Madhav’s mental state. Dombivli becomes a microcosm of Mumbai’s relentless pressures, where survival often comes at the cost of integrity.

Kaizad Gustad’s Bombay Boys is a psychedelic romp through the underground. The film follows three young men — an NRI, an aspiring actor, and a musician — as they navigate the city’s chaotic charm. Gustad’s Bombay is raw, vibrant, and filled with eccentric characters. Unlike the sanitized versions of Mumbai typically seen in Bollywood, Bombay Boys embraces the city’s grime and neon glow. It paints a picture of a city teeming with contradictions; a place where glamour and grit coexist.

This Marathi film by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar is a quiet tale about a tea seller on the outskirts of Mumbai. The protagonist, struggling to provide for his family, dreams of sending his daughter to school. Ek Cup Chaha captures the stark contrasts between the sprawling, aspirational Mumbai skyline in the distance and the harsh truth of those living in its periphery. The film uses the imagery of slums, factories, and unending crowds as a metaphor for the chasm between ambition and reality. It’s a deeply empathetic look at the city’s invisible workers who keep its machinery running but are forgotten in its grand narrative.

While not set directly in Mumbai, Supermen of Malegaon captures the influence of the city on India's grassroots filmmaking culture. This documentary by Faiza Ahmed Khan follows a group of small-town filmmakers in Malegaon, a nearby town, as they create a low-budget satire of Superman. Mumbai becomes a dreamland of sorts — a place these filmmakers both idolize and parody, as they aspire to its cinematic traditions. Their humor, resilience, and passion for storytelling reflect the essence of Mumbai itself; a city built on relentless hope.

If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:

All We Imagine: How Payal Kapadia Found Light In The Darkness Of The City Of Dreams

For Veer, for Zaara: The Artistic & Cultural Relevance Of An Indian Cinematic Classic

'Sabar Bonda' Will Make History As The First Marathi Film To Premiere At Sundance '25