New Delhi, Apr 19 (IANS): "Apartment", "City of Gold", "Bird Idol", "Kuchh Kariye" and "Muskurake Dekh Zara" - all the Hindi films releasing Friday have a common thread. All of them have Mumbai as the backdrop for themes varying from the space crunch in the city to organised crime and even an animation flick.

In "Apartment", director Jagmohan Mundhra portrays a "contemporary story, set in today's Mumbai" where people share room with complete strangers "because of the space crunch and the steep real estate prices". The movie stars Rohit Roy, Tanushree Dutta and Neetu Chandra.

"City of Gold" is a no-holds-barred look at the birth of the city's underbelly and organised crime. Director Mahesh Manjrekar, who also plays an important role in the film, highlights the plight of Mumbai mill workers who sacrificed a lot so that the 21st Century Mumbai of swanky malls and glittering multiplexes could be built.

"Bird Idol", on the other hand, is an animated laugh-riot where the birds of Mumbai are as human as the people who inhabit it. Director Jyotin Goel, who made Sanjay Dutt-starrer "Safari", narrates how birds go to school, watch TV, go out on dates and enjoy reality shows, especially a musical show known for making overnight stars.

"Bird Idol" has voice-overs by Juhi Chawla, Shaan and Kailash Kher.

"Kuchh Kariye", produced and directed by Jagbir Dahiya, deals with the current socio-political scenario. It's the journey of a man meeting his destiny and coming to terms with himself in Mumbai, after he is forced to leave his hometown. The film also marks the debut of singer Sukhwinder Singh as an actor.

It also stars Vikrum Kumar, Rufi Khan, Shriya, Surendra Pal and Mukesh Tiwari.

"Muskurake Dekh Zara" is the story of a young man who drives from his hometown to Mumbai after an embarrassing incident. And he finds love in the city. A story of emotions and disappointments in love and life, the movie is about winning back one's zeal with an upright attitude and ability to put people in their place after moving away from home.

"Muskurake Dekh Zara" is produced and directed by Som Shekhar, who has been an executive producer of movies like "Rangeela", "Satya" and "Company". The film is the launch pad of debutants Gashmeer Mahajani and Twinkle Patel.

As far as the casting goes, Friday seems to be missing out on films with big stars. What is to be seen is if the five movies manage to set the ticket windows buzzing.