MovieChat Forums > Salaam Bombay! (1988) Discussion > What does the title mean?

What does the title mean?


I'm not sure what "Salaam Bombay!" means. Thanks!

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Salaam (which originally means "Peace" in Arabic) is used in India ( and Indian sub-continent) as a form of greeting/salutation. And Bombay is the busiest city of India (center of commerce, bollywood amongst other things). So, the title means - salutation to Bombay - as the movie revolves around an adolescent who has run away to this city and depicts the way the ruthless machinery of a metropolitan city treats her residents.
Hope that was helpful!

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Thank you so much!

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Salaam is also used as a greeting in most Arabic dialects...

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Salam bombay = hello bombay(mumbai)

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Salaam (which originally means "Peace" in Arabic) is used in India ( and Indian sub-continent) as a form of greeting/salutation
By Muslims. Hindus who speak Hindi would say "Namaste". I don't know they say in other languages.

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Here is the Indian POV

Yes, 'Salaam' generally means hello, salutations, greetings etc., though it is more of a formal term, and is sometimes used in conjunction with other words to greet others during the holidays or New Year's.

Bombay is pretty self-explanatory; Bombay is the old name for Mumbai, the most populated city in India, and the second most populated city in the world! It was renamed Bombay by the British, but it was then changed back to the original Bombay. Bombay is somewhat known for its areas of poverty, and for its extremely powerful mob, which controls a significant amount of Bollywood movie making/producing.

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It was renamed Bombay by the British


It wasn't renamed anything. The city did not exist till the British showed up after receiving it as dowry from the Portuguese when their princess married Charles II. The word Bombay is derived from 'bom bahai' which means good harbour in Portuguese.
So it was always Bombay until the chauvinist retards behind the Shiv Sena forcibly changed it to Mumbai around 1995.

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Peace on you Bombay. Since Arabs were in most of these Asian countries, you will find the same word Salaam (= Peace), with few variations, in most languages, like Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Hindi. In Hebrew, the word is Shalom.

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