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Thursday, May 28, 2020

BOLLY TALKIES: Book review

Book Cover: Author's Copyright



“India has two religions- Bollywood and Cricket”

Archana Srivastav’s BOLLY TALKIES has recently been released in the #BlogchatterEbookCarnival by Blogchatter with other 62 amazing books. Non-fiction and especially Bollywood has been a popular genre in India of late, the audience/readers always look forward to knowing more about film, characters and the people who play these characters in these films.

Bollywood is definitely a magical realm where everything becomes larger than life as if by some magic. , even life itself! The out of this world heroines, the superhero-like heroes, the legendary villains all have played a role in establishing Bollywood as the “Baap” of entertainment in India. Though sometimes it does perpetuate stereotypes, and on other occasions, it dares to break them as well.

Archana is an MBA Graduate, Former HR Professional, Former Management Faculty, she thoroughly enjoyed her working career till 2015, after which she took a break from working, but her love and enthusiasm for Hindi films is evident in each chapter of the book.

Archana says in the blurb –
“The book is an assortment of a list of famous Bollywood movies. There are twenty-six chapters in this book, the names will either be of a character from the movie, the movie, or a collection of similar characters.”

While some chapters are dedicated to one character in one film several others have references to more than one like the one about friendships in films. The highlight of each chapter is not the brief synopsis of the plot or the character but the second half where the author speaks about the lessons learned from the film, the takeaways, and the eye-opener points. These reflect on a variety of themes from life lessons to parenting, about character building, relationship advice, and more, making the format innovative and engaging for the reader.

The language is easy and every day with a solid peppering of Hinglish and quotes from Bollywood. Some chapters like “XTRA Dose Of Laughter” and “Second Inning Of YESTER YEAR'S Actors” are a surprise as they compile the punch of a lot of legendary characters/actors and films into one.

The author walks us through films and characters that, in her opinion, have been game-changers in some way. The reader might have different opinions about these and might not consider these as the best films or characters but they made an impact and changed mainstream cinema in some manner. They influenced viewers, perceptions about common beliefs but also how filmmakers and film-making practices have evolved.

This book provides an insightful tour of the glamour and variety of Indian cinema along with profiles of characters, insights into subjects, some lesser-known facts, and how each of these became path-breaking.

The book is for all Bollywood enthusiasts and even those who want a peek into what makes Bollywood such a dominant sub-text in who we are as a society and a country. It is a light-read suitable for all age-groups above pre-teens and gives enough food for thought about films as a change-making art form.



The author can be reached at archana.sahay9@gmail.com

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