Behind the celluloid tales
Syed Badrul Ahsan peeps into glamorous lives
The Greatest Show on EarthWritings on Bollywood
Ed Jerry Pinto
Penguin Books You could be forgiven for wondering how the term Bollywood came to be. Suffice it to say that there is something called copycat behaviour, which is how our very well-known Hollywood has spawned Bollywood and, bizarrely, Lollywood in Lahore and Dhaliwood in Dhaka. Of course it does not make sense, but there you are, this very human tendency to copy where creation is not possible. But come back to that Bollywood factor. There is something about the Indian film industry which has kept people in thrall for decades altogether. In this delightful work, Jerry Pinto brings together a collection of writings on actors and things related to acting, enough to make old men and women recapitulate their youth and those younger to rush through the history of the industry. Do not forget that the Indian movie industry happens to be the largest in the world. That certainly entitles those who are part of it to be discussed by those who have observed them or their artistic contributions over the years. Take a peek into what The Greatest Show offers. Anupama Chopra cannot resist dwelling on Shahrukh Khan. As she puts it, he is a global icon. Much as you shake your head, for all the right reasons of course, you cannot but accept the truth that Khan has had an impact on the movie industry as no other actor has. But then, do not forget that behind the emergence of this global icon lies the efforts and the ingenuity of Karan Johar. Move on. The journalist Vinod Mehta focuses on Meena Kumari in his affectionate biography of the late star. You get a good deal of information about the collapse of the actress' marriage to Kamal Amrohi. The more interesting part of Mehta's essay brings the tragedian Guru Dutt in relation to Meena Kumari. In more ways than one, both led depressing lives, with Dutt eventually taking his. In this enlightening write-up, Mehta dwells in great detail on what is given out as the cinematic magic of Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. And there is too that matter of the scandalous you would certainly wish to go through. Scandal is energizing for those who spot it in others. And so we have here the queer story of the mess Dilip Kumar once nearly made of his life when he married Asma. It was a fuming Saira Bano he confronted, naturally. Devyani Chaubal the gossip columnist knew about it all and spilled the beans, as Bunny Reuben will tell you. Scandal apart, though, there has always been that loud whisper about Dilip and Kamini Kaushal, very much a married woman, being drawn to each other on the sets. The affair would go on until Kaushal's brother threatened to shoot her if she did not put an end to it. Which reminds you of the story of Dilip Kumar and Madhubala and their doomed love. This is a fine expostulation of the many heartbreaks and the endless laughter which has characterized the working of the Bollywood industry. Read Manna Dey's frank account of his struggle to make a mark as a playback singer. You will be impressed and a trifle touched. Which takes you to the phenomenon that is A.R. Rahman, the man who has seemed to free Indian music out into the wider world, to give to it before taking from it. Interested in reflections on sex in Indian movies? B.D. Garga will happily have you revisit the times of Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Mumtaz and Rekha. And did you know that kissing, even of the passionate kind, was a given in Indian cinema in the 1920s. Sulochana and Dinshaw Billimoria were always locked in a tight embrace, cheerfully lost in passionate kisses in such movies as Anarkali and Heer Ranjha. Zubeida became known for her eroticism. Not so bad, the 1920s. Makes this second decade of the twenty-first century droll by comparison. Read on, if you are an aficionado of Indian cinema. You may skip some of the essays if you think you should, but do not miss reading Bhisham Sahni's touching portrayal of brother Balraj Sahni in Balraj in Bombay. Balraj spoke of coming up against walls in the movie industry at every step. "In other spheres of social life, these walls may be made of brick and mortar, but in the world of Hindi films these walls are made of granite." Syed Badrul Ahsan's biography of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is under publication in New Delhi, India .
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