Dir. Kiran Rao. 2010, 100 mins.

A favorite at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival, Mumbai Diaries, an urban romance that puts a fresh, independent face on the image of Indian cinema, is an impressive directorial debut by Kiran Rao. Rao’s husband, superstar Aamir Khan, gives a compelling low-key performance as an artist who falls in love with an Indian-American banker. The third member of the triangle is their shared dhobi—the laundry man who picks up their clothes. This fresh, lyrically photographed film is also a love letter to Mumbai during monsoon season.

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