 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Which movie star would you LOVE to read about?
Anything to do with Bollywood arouses curiosity in people since everyone wants to get a sneak peak at the real life of actors and musicians, and also catch glimpses of events behind the scenes. Cashing in on this, a lot of books on the Hindi film industry have come out recently.
Here is a list of books that we have compiled for you. Click through the slide show and vote for the one you would like to read.
'I Want to Live' The Story Of Madhubala
Author: Khatija Akbar
Madhubala with her mesmerizing eyes and impish grin has captivated the Indian audiences through the ages. Her Venus like features, her tragic life and untimely death provide enough material for an engaging book.
This book not only speaks about her reel life but also delves into her real life. Madhubala was an extremely loving and caring human being, but always lived in fear of her dominant father.
In the book the author talks about films ranging from Basant (1942), in which she acted as a child artist, to blockbuster movies like Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and beyond. She also focuses on movies like Mahal, Tarana, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and Mughal-e-Azam, Mr & Mrs 55 and Amar
The author also speaks of her love affair with actor Dilip Kumar, her major heart ailment, the last few years of her life which were which spent in solitude despite being married to Kishore Kumar, and later about her death.
Read an excerpt from the book here.
Flashback: My Life and times in Bollywood and Beyond
Author: Bob Christo
Most people may remember him as the archetypical white villain but there was more to Bollywood baddie Bob Christo. This book attempts to unfold the various aspects of the actor's life that have remained hidden till now.
Robert John Christo was born in 1938 in Sydney, Australia. He was a civil engineer in Sydney and worked on projects like military supply lines of the South Vietnamese army as well as a construction supervisor on the film sets of Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Hoping to meet the sizzling Parveen Babi in India, he chanced upon a part in Sanjay Khan's Abdullah (1980) and then went on to act in hundreds of Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. In the year 2000, he became a yoga instructor after shifting base from Mumbai to Bangalore, where he passed away on March 20.
First Day First Show
Author: Anupama Chopra
Film critic Anupama Chopra's book is a collection of her earlier works and writings. She has compiled the articles to show how Bollywood has evolved in the last 20 years. In the book she talks about super hit films like Sholay and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Shah Rukh Khan has written a foreword for this book
Verma's book Sholay: The Making of a Classic won her a National Award in 2001, in the best book on cinema category.
Manik Da: Memories of Satyajit Ray
Author: Nemai Ghosh
The book is like a story in pictures of Satyajit Ray whom his close friends knew as Manik-da. This book is the result of the camaraderie shared by Ray, and Nemai Ghosh.
Ghosh first worked with Ray on Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, and the director immediately developed a liking for him, marking the beginning a 25-year long association. This gave Ghosh an opportunity to photograph Ray at work and play, capturing the many moods of the master director. The book includes a perceptive foreword by Sharmila Tagore.
Nemai Ghosh is best known for his photographs of Satyajit Ray and his stills from Ray's films.
Read an excerpt from the book right here.
A R Rahman The Spirit of Music
Author: Nasreen Munni Kabir
It is the first official biography of AR Rahman that gives an extensive insight into the life of the Oscar winning composer. The book follows a question answer format and talks of Rahman's childhood, his struggle, his music and international recognition.
Documentary filmmaker and author Nasreen Munni has written several books on Indian cinema, including Guru Dutt, A Life In Cinema, Talking Films & Talking Songs with Javed Akhtar, Yours Guru, The Intimate Letters Of a Great Indian Filmmaker, Lata Mangeshkar In Her Own Voice, and four different publications featuring the dialogues of Mughal-e-Azam, Awaara, Mother India and Pyaasa.
Read an excerpt from the book here
RD Burman - The Man, The Music
Authors: Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal
The book looks at the phenomenon called RD Burman and how he changed the way Indians perceived Hindi film music. The authors Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal tell us tales of RD's music through anecdotes and trivia that went into the making of Pancham's music -- the many innovations he introduced, like mixed rhythm patterns, piquant chords and sound mixing.
Through interactions with the musicians who were part of RD's team, the authors create a fascinating portrait of a man who, through his music, continues to thrive, even 15 years after his death.
Read an excerpt from the book here
KL Saigal: The Definitive Biography
Author: Pran Nevile
Pran Nevile gives us in depth stories of the life of Shahenshah-e-mausiqi (emperor of music) K L Saigal, who became a phenomenon in his own lifetime.
With no formal training, Saigal recorded 185 songs, including the evergreen hits like Diya Jalao Jagmag Jagmag, Rumjhum Rumjhum Chaal Tihari, Baag Laga Doon Sajani and Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya.
He also acted in 36 feature films, including Tansen, Street Singer and Shahjehan. His popularity, however, skyrocketed with Devdas in which he played the doomed lover to perfection, a portrayal that would influence every actor playing a tragic hero thereafter.
Read an excerpt from the book here
Disco Dancer - A Comedy in Five Acts
Author: Anuvab Pal
Disco Dancer contains part screenplay, part interviews and some analysis of the 1980's blockbuster starring Mithun Chakraborty. This book tries to understand how the movie became a super hit not only in India but abroad too.
In Osaka, Japan fans built a statue of the hero Jimmy, Russian fans almost erupted in raptures when the movie was released in the country and millions from Dubai to San Francisco only knew of this movie when Bollywood was mentioned.
Most of all the bookit is an effort at preservation: To translate and archive some of the greatest lines of dialogue, ingenious inventions of the plot and narrative, and perhaps the greatest dancing character ever written in any cinema. So that even if new India is not the nation we once were, Disco Dancer, hopefully, will not be forgotten.
Read an excerpt from the book here.
The Dialogue of Pyaasa, Guru Dutt's Immortal Classic
Author: Nasreen Munni Kabir
The main aim of The Dialogue of Pyaasa, Guru Dutt's Immortal Classic is to preserve the film's complete dialogue by Abrar Alvi and songs and poems by Sahir Ludhianvi, in book form.
These are presented in Hindi, Urdu and Romanised scripts. Generously illustrated, the dialogue is also accompanied by an English translation, introduction and extensive commentary by Nasreen Munni Kabir.
Deewar - The Footpath, the City and the Angry
Author: Vinay Lal
Yash Chopra's 1975 film, Deewar, gave Amitabh Bachchan the iconic persona of the angry young man and unforgettable dialogues like Lambi Race Ka Ghoda, Mere Paas Ma Hai, Car Se Aane Wale Log Aksar Der Se Aate Hain and Mera Baap Chor Hai to Bollywood
Vinay Lal's book analyses Deewar in the social context of the turbulent 1970s. He mirrors the huge inequality in India by comparing the Footpath of Marine Drive with the 5-star hotels that Vijay frequents after becoming a gangster in the movie.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro: Seriously Funny since 1983
Author: Jai Arjun Singh
Made on a budget of less than Rs 7 lakh, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is India's first definitive black comedy. Jai Arjun Singh's take on the making of the film and its cult following is as entertaining as the film itself.
The book reveals how some of the country's finest theatre and film personalities participated in its creation, however, the journey was anything but smooth.
Among other things, it involved bumping off disco killers and talking gorillas, finding air-conditioned rooms for dead rats, persuading a respected actor to stop sulking and eat his meals, and resisting the temptation to introduce logic into a madcap script.
Vote: Which book would you like to read?
So what are you waiting for? Vote now!