# Traffic Signal (2007 film)
**Traffic Signal** is a 2007 Hindi-language drama film directed by [Madhur Bhandarkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/madhur-bhandarkar), portraying the informal economy of beggars, vendors, eunuchs, and small-time criminals who live and work around a traffic signal in Mumbai. Produced by Percept Picture Company, it was released on 2 February 2007 with a listed runtime of 129 minutes.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=1431) The film is the third entry in what Bhandarkar describes as a trilogy with *Page 3* (2005) and *[Corporate](https://www.edgepedia.org/corporate-2006-film)* (2006), each examining a different stratum of Indian society.[2](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/my-films-just-hold-up-a-mirror-to-society-madhur-bhandarkar/17030) It won Bhandarkar the National Film Award for Best Direction at the 54th [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards).[3](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 2 February 2007, Hindi drama, 129 min[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=1431) |
| Director and writers | Madhur Bhandarkar; story, screenplay, and dialogue by Bhandarkar and Sachin Yardi[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=1431) |
| Lead cast | Kunal Khemu as Silsila, Neetu Chandra as Rani, Upendra Limaye as Manya, Ranvir Shorey as Dominic D'Souza, Sudhir Mishra as Afzal Bhai[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=1431) |
| Trilogy position | Third film after *Page 3* and *Corporate*, covering a third stratum of society[2](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/my-films-just-hold-up-a-mirror-to-society-madhur-bhandarkar/17030) |
| Major award | National Film Award for Best Direction, 54th National Film Awards[3](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) |
| Box office | Verdict "Average"; adjusted nett gross 172,721,320 rupees, ranking 21st among 2007 Hindi releases[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/hit-down.php/hit-down.php?txtYearlyData=2000-2009&year=2007) |
| Budget and earnings | About 40 million rupees (4 crore rupees) budget, about 100 million (10 crore) earned, per Bhandarkar[5](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/madhur-bhandarkar-scores-hattrick-with-traffic-signal/articleshow/3117958.cms?from=mdr) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and origin
The film is set among the poor beggars, vendors, and the "manager" who work at a traffic signal on a Mumbai street.[6](https://iucat.iu.edu/iusb/8311774) Its characters include an orphan named Silsila, a little scavenger boy, a Gujarati girl selling clothes, a drug addict, a prostitute named Noorie, and the local hafta collector, the collector being the figure who gathers weekly protection payments from the signal's workers. Trouble begins when Silsila is caught in a chain of events that threatens the signal itself, the source of everyone's income.[7](https://www.shemaroome.com/movies/traffic-signal) A flourishing "industry" exists at the signals, run by gangsters and politicians, and the story examines the relationship of need and dependency between politicians, the mafia, and the street dwellers.[8](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/traffic-signal/critic-review/traffic-signal-movie-review/) • [9](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=3956)
Bhandarkar said the idea came to him during his barefoot Tuesday walks from Khar to the Siddhivinayak temple, a practice he had kept up for nine years. Watching beggars and eunuchs at the signals along the way, he found it intriguing that a red light meant employment for them, and he began researching while writing the story.[10](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm) He described the film as showing two views of the world, those looking out from the comfort of their cars and those looking in.[10](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm)
## Casting and production
Bhandarkar deliberately avoided a big-name lead. He said that while writing the script he decided a star would bring an existing image to the character, so he cast [Kunal Khemu](https://www.edgepedia.org/kunal-khemu), whom he had seen in *Kalyug*, as Silsila, a street boy who collects money from the people at the signal and acts as their leader.[2](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/my-films-just-hold-up-a-mirror-to-society-madhur-bhandarkar/17030) • [10](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm) Neetu Chandra, previously seen in Priyadarshan's *Garam Masala*, plays Rani, a Gujarati kanthiyawadi who comes to Mumbai to sell embroidery on the streets, with a subtle romance developing between her and Silsila.[10](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm)
[Konkona Sen Sharma](https://www.edgepedia.org/konkona-sen-sharma) plays Noorie, a prostitute romantically involved with [Ranvir Shorey](https://www.edgepedia.org/ranvir-shorey)'s character, an educated drug addict who cons passers-by. Bhandarkar said Sen Sharma initially had reservations about the role, disliking the character's language and get-up, and that he had to convince her to take it.[10](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm) The film also cast the filmmaker [Sudhir Mishra](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudhir-mishra) as the don Afzal Bhai; Bhandarkar said Mishra was apprehensive at first and claimed he could not act.[2](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/my-films-just-hold-up-a-mirror-to-society-madhur-bhandarkar/17030) To heighten realism, Bhandarkar used ten real beggars and eunuchs in the cast.[11](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2006/madhur-bhandarkar-120706.html)
The crew included Mahesh Limaye as director of photography, Devendra Murdeshwar as editor, Umesh Jadhav as choreographer, and Shamir Tandon as composer with lyrics by Sameer.[6](https://iucat.iu.edu/iusb/8311774)
## Music
Shamir Tandon, who had scored Bhandarkar's *Page 3* and *Corporate*, composed the soundtrack. Songs include "Yeh Zindagi Hai" and "Kya Zindagi Hai" sung by [Kunal Ganjawala](https://www.edgepedia.org/kunal-ganjawala), and "Aai Ga", a Lavani-flavored street dance number sung by Vaishali Sawant.[10](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm) A Rediff review of the album was unfavorable, calling the compilation lame while noting bonus non-film tracks by [Jagjit Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/jagjit-singh), Kailash Kher, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, and Chitra as a consolation.[12](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/traffic/20070124.htm)
## Release and box office
The film premiered in Mumbai on 1 February 2007 and released the next day. Early industry tracking placed it third among the week's releases by average per-print collections, at 151,967 rupees, with its business strongest in Mumbai, Maharashtra, parts of central provinces, and the south.[13](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bo-trade-top5/top-5-guru-overtakes-s-e-i-traffic-signal/) Box Office India ultimately rated it "Average", with an adjusted nett gross of 172,721,320 rupees, placing it 21st among 2007 releases.[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/hit-down.php/hit-down.php?txtYearlyData=2000-2009&year=2007) Bhandarkar later framed the result against the film's cost: "'Traffic Signal' was only a 4 crore film but it earned about 10 crores at the box office."[5](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/madhur-bhandarkar-scores-hattrick-with-traffic-signal/articleshow/3117958.cms?from=mdr)
## Awards
At the 54th National Film Awards, covering films of 2006, Bhandarkar received the National Film Award for Best Direction for *Traffic Signal*, with a Swarna Kamal and a cash prize of 250,000 rupees. The citation praised him for weaving in the lives, livelihoods, and concerns of street dwellers in a metro. Bhandarkar said the win was unexpected and gave him a hat-trick of National Awards after *Chandni Bar* (2001) and *[Page 3](https://www.edgepedia.org/page-3-2005-film)* (2005).[3](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) • [5](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/madhur-bhandarkar-scores-hattrick-with-traffic-signal/articleshow/3117958.cms?from=mdr)
## Reception
Critical response was divided. Khalid Mohamed in *Hindustan Times* gave three stars and called it Bhandarkar's best work yet in terms of cinematic rigor and social concern, praising the plausibility of the street characters and Khemu's performance.[14](https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/traffic-signal-is-real/story-2cKqJx9RuSrvBEa1TkRqCM_amp.html) Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated it 3 out of 5, calling the slice-of-life approach the film's USP while noting it rests on a thin plot and ends abruptly.[8](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/traffic-signal/critic-review/traffic-signal-movie-review/) The Times of India was more negative, arguing the first half introduces stock characters without a story and that the vignettes of Mumbai street life are not enough to hold the film together.[15](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/traffic-signal/movie-review/1556537.cms) A Rediff review likewise found the episodic concept short of material for a feature, though it praised the cast's performances.[16](https://im.rediff.com/movies/2007/feb/02traffic.htm) David Chute, writing in L.A. Weekly, called it "a skillfully woven multicharacter drama" and "a methodical depiction of a stratified alternative society".[17](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/traffic_signal)
The film has since been used as a reference point in academic writing on Mumbai's urban politics. Scholars have noted that its narrative is framed by the relationship between "official" Mumbai and infrastructure such as flyovers, in which a builder plots to remove the signal economy that the film depicts.[18](https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12525) It remains available on free ad-supported streaming services in the United States, including Tubi and Plex.[19](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/traffic-signal)
## References
1. [Traffic Signal, cast and crew, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=1431)
2. ["My films just hold up a mirror to society" – Madhur Bhandarkar interview, Business of Cinema](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/my-films-just-hold-up-a-mirror-to-society-madhur-bhandarkar/17030)
3. [54th National Film Awards archives, Directorate of Film Festivals](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf)
4. [Top Hits 2007, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/hit-down.php/hit-down.php?txtYearlyData=2000-2009&year=2007)
5. [Madhur Bhandarkar scores hattrick with 'Traffic Signal', The Economic Times](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/madhur-bhandarkar-scores-hattrick-with-traffic-signal/articleshow/3117958.cms?from=mdr)
6. [Traffic signal, IUCAT library catalog record](https://iucat.iu.edu/iusb/8311774)
7. [Traffic Signal, ShemarooMe](https://www.shemaroome.com/movies/traffic-signal)
8. [Traffic Signal Movie Review by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/traffic-signal/critic-review/traffic-signal-movie-review/)
9. [Film Review – Traffic Signal, Lokvani](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=3956)
10. ['Konkona did not want to do Traffic' – Madhur Bhandarkar interview, Rediff](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31madhur.htm)
11. ["I have used 10 real beggars in my film" – Madhur, Filmibeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2006/madhur-bhandarkar-120706.html)
12. [Traffic Signal has boring music, Rediff](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/traffic/20070124.htm)
13. [Top 5: 'Guru' overtakes 'S-E-I', 'Traffic Signal', Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bo-trade-top5/top-5-guru-overtakes-s-e-i-traffic-signal/)
14. [Traffic Signal is real, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/traffic-signal-is-real/story-2cKqJx9RuSrvBEa1TkRqCM_amp.html)
15. [Traffic Signal Movie Review, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/traffic-signal/movie-review/1556537.cms)
16. [Jump this Traffic Signal, Rediff](https://im.rediff.com/movies/2007/feb/02traffic.htm)
17. [Traffic Signal, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/traffic_signal)
18. [Harris, Engineering Formality: Flyover and Skywalk Construction in Mumbai, IJURR](https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12525)
19. [Traffic Signal streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/traffic-signal)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Drama films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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