To design a new island for the Film City Tower in ‘Mahim Bay’, across the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai. The site island is located approximately 100 metres off the BWSL promenade in the Mahim Bay waters, adjoining the Western Express Highway. It is bounded by the Bandra Reclamation area to the north and west, and Mahim and Worli to the far east and south, respectively (Figure 4a).
Rasa
The Rasa method of performance is one of the fundamental features that differentiates Indian cinema from that of the Western world. In the Rasa method, empathetic emotions are conveyed by the performer and thus felt by the audience, in contrast to the Western Stanislavski method, where the actor must become ‘a living, breathing embodiment of a character’ rather than simply conveying emotion. A Rasa denotes an essential state of mind and is the dominant emotional theme of a work of art or the primary feeling evoked in the person who views, reads, or hears such a work.
Navarasa
Rasa has been an important influence on Indian cinema. The design by 4site Architects attempts to explore ‘the Navarasa’ – the emotions expressed through facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements. The proposed tower’s expression responds to all nine Rasas through its colour, texture, and functions (Figure 4b):
- Shoka – sadness
- Veera – heroism
- Bhayanaka – horror
- Bhibhasta – disgust
- Adbhuta – wonder
- Kroda – anger
- Hasya – joy
- Karuna – sympathy
- Prema – love
Mumbai Street
A variety of public functions within the tower would greet visitors with panoramic views of the city. The ramp that wraps around the tower reinterprets conventional design by incorporating Mumbai’s urban landscape into its structure, encouraging social interaction and distributing communal spaces throughout the tower—an aspect often absent as buildings rise in height. This twisting ramp, themed as ‘Mumbai Streets’, connects all the Navarasas at various levels, responding to each respective emotion. Panoramic views of Mumbai can be experienced along these vertical streets at different heights, enhancing the experiential quality of the design. (Figure 4c).
