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Bollybook: The Big Book of Hindi Movie Trivia
In how many Hindi films has the hero been afflicted with the Big C (cancer that is)?
Who played a double role in Sholay?
Which Dev Anand movie had the song ‘Usne phenka leg break to maine mara chhakka'?
And who was it that said ‘Hum jahan khade hote hain, line wahin se shuru hoti hai' in Kaalia? Amitabh, you say? Think again!
From Geet Gaata Chal (songs that became movies), The Big Bong Theory (11 depictions of Bengalis) and Dawaa Ya Dua (8 kinds of diseases) to Nishabd (10 silent scenes of Amitabh Bachchan) and Picture Abhi Baaki Hai (16 unusual ‘The End's), Bollybook is chock-full of interesting asides, fascinating insights and utterly useless trivia from the world of Hindi cinema. Every page in this bumper book the print equivalent of a 270 minute Bollywood epic is going to engross and entertain you.
A copy of Bollybook belongs on your table, right next to your DVD remote.
Who played a double role in Sholay?
Which Dev Anand movie had the song ‘Usne phenka leg break to maine mara chhakka'?
And who was it that said ‘Hum jahan khade hote hain, line wahin se shuru hoti hai' in Kaalia? Amitabh, you say? Think again!
From Geet Gaata Chal (songs that became movies), The Big Bong Theory (11 depictions of Bengalis) and Dawaa Ya Dua (8 kinds of diseases) to Nishabd (10 silent scenes of Amitabh Bachchan) and Picture Abhi Baaki Hai (16 unusual ‘The End's), Bollybook is chock-full of interesting asides, fascinating insights and utterly useless trivia from the world of Hindi cinema. Every page in this bumper book the print equivalent of a 270 minute Bollywood epic is going to engross and entertain you.
A copy of Bollybook belongs on your table, right next to your DVD remote.
496 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2014
About the author
Diptakirti Chaudhuri
18 books60 followersDiptakirti Chaudhuri loves marketing by day, movies by night.
His first book was for children, on the 2011 cricket World Cup. From then onwards, he has been writing about his first love - Bollywood.
His second book (Kitnay Aadmi Thay) was on Bollywood trivia as was his third - BollyBook: The Big Book of Hindi Movie Trivia (published in September 2014).
His next book was Written By Salim-Javed: The Story of Hindi Cinema's greatest screenwriters, an in-depth look at the story of the two writers who revolutionised the Hindi film industry.
He has written Bioscope: A Frivolous History of Bollywood in Ten Chapters, looking at the evolution of Hindi cinema in quirky ways.
Subsequently, he went back to Bollywood trivia with BollyGeek: A Crazy Trivia Guide to Bollywood.
His latest is a set of four Bollywood Pocketbooks - one each on Iconic Dates, Places, Characters and Things.
He lives in Bangalore with his wife, a son and a daughter. None of them shares his obsessive love for the movies. Yet.
His first book was for children, on the 2011 cricket World Cup. From then onwards, he has been writing about his first love - Bollywood.
His second book (Kitnay Aadmi Thay) was on Bollywood trivia as was his third - BollyBook: The Big Book of Hindi Movie Trivia (published in September 2014).
His next book was Written By Salim-Javed: The Story of Hindi Cinema's greatest screenwriters, an in-depth look at the story of the two writers who revolutionised the Hindi film industry.
He has written Bioscope: A Frivolous History of Bollywood in Ten Chapters, looking at the evolution of Hindi cinema in quirky ways.
Subsequently, he went back to Bollywood trivia with BollyGeek: A Crazy Trivia Guide to Bollywood.
His latest is a set of four Bollywood Pocketbooks - one each on Iconic Dates, Places, Characters and Things.
He lives in Bangalore with his wife, a son and a daughter. None of them shares his obsessive love for the movies. Yet.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 10, 2016
Quite interesting but the focus is more on recent films and several insights from the past movies - say before "Sholay" (which gets a little too much focus) are missing. eg one section on settings for movies mentions just two outings for Lucknow despite the city of Nawabs figuring in many more and even having two songs to it - title songs of "Chaudhvin Ka Chand" and "Palki"...
April 14, 2015
Fabulously complied, intricately wrought. Studded with tons and tons of filmy trivia and numerous in-jokes addressed to the fellow fan.
Hits all the right chords, in both brass band and rock versions !!!
Hits all the right chords, in both brass band and rock versions !!!
December 16, 2020
Lovely book.
Loved reading it.
Loved reading it.
November 5, 2014
Disclaimer: I am a friend of the author. Also, Bollywood and Trivia will easily come in the list of top 5 things I care about.
With that as a premise, I am happy to give this book a 6 on 5. After all, what's Bollywood if not larger than five, err, life. This is a sequel to Diptakirti's previous work on Bollywood trivia - Kitnay Aadmi Thay (KAT), and let's say KAT had blown me away, and if KAT was Hurrican Katrina, this is a sheer tsunami.
It took me more than a month and a half to complete the Bible of Bollywood, because like all holy scriptures you don't just flip through its pages. You sit down with a paper and pen (a Kindle and its bookmarks in this case) and take copious notes. 785 notes to be precise. I think, rather, I am certain, I have not read anything this attentively in my life. Not even the spelling of my name on my passport and visas.
This is not a book that you can like. Or a "one time read" to borrow Bollywood's famous "one time watch" phrase. If you are a true Bollywood fan, interested in the world of the characters, the stars, the people behind the scenes and random facts and figures form this world makes your day, then you will LOVE the book. Otherwise, don't bother to read it.
Don't want to divulge too many details, not fair to the author, or me, as I plan to conduct 10 Bollywood quizzes just based on the book. Here's a snippet. "In Paa, Jaya Bachchan read out the names of the cast and crew in her inimitable style - pausing sometimes to remember a few names and giggling like a schoolgirl when saying 'Introducing Amitabh Bachchan'. This device of her reading out the title was probably a belated return favour that Amitabh Bachchan had done for her film Bawarchi, some four decades earlier."
Easily my favourite book of 2014.
With that as a premise, I am happy to give this book a 6 on 5. After all, what's Bollywood if not larger than five, err, life. This is a sequel to Diptakirti's previous work on Bollywood trivia - Kitnay Aadmi Thay (KAT), and let's say KAT had blown me away, and if KAT was Hurrican Katrina, this is a sheer tsunami.
It took me more than a month and a half to complete the Bible of Bollywood, because like all holy scriptures you don't just flip through its pages. You sit down with a paper and pen (a Kindle and its bookmarks in this case) and take copious notes. 785 notes to be precise. I think, rather, I am certain, I have not read anything this attentively in my life. Not even the spelling of my name on my passport and visas.
This is not a book that you can like. Or a "one time read" to borrow Bollywood's famous "one time watch" phrase. If you are a true Bollywood fan, interested in the world of the characters, the stars, the people behind the scenes and random facts and figures form this world makes your day, then you will LOVE the book. Otherwise, don't bother to read it.
Don't want to divulge too many details, not fair to the author, or me, as I plan to conduct 10 Bollywood quizzes just based on the book. Here's a snippet. "In Paa, Jaya Bachchan read out the names of the cast and crew in her inimitable style - pausing sometimes to remember a few names and giggling like a schoolgirl when saying 'Introducing Amitabh Bachchan'. This device of her reading out the title was probably a belated return favour that Amitabh Bachchan had done for her film Bawarchi, some four decades earlier."
Easily my favourite book of 2014.
January 16, 2016
At the outset, I must say that I am lucky to know the author in a personal capacity, but that does not have any bearings on this review.
I had enjoyed reading Dipta's 'Kitney Aadmi Thay' some time back, but this sequel dramatically expands on that and establishes itself as the magnum opus of Bollywood trivia. The amount of research behind this book is copious and exhaustive, but stringing together all that information in one coherent and engaging narrative is what sets book apart. The overarching structure is akin to a movie storyline, but the categorization of the 100 (Yes!) chapters is very smart which makes it easy to keep reading the book in tranches.
So, how is it different from any other trivia book? That's where Dipta's unique writing style comes into play - fluid, rich in content, crisp, and a constant current of wit and humor. Capturing the context and plot of the movies in short paragraphs is no mean task and Dipta couldn't have done it better. Even though I knew a lot of movies inside out, the distinct style of capturing them ensured I didn't skip a single word. A bulk of movies made multiple appearances, but each time there was a different take on them.
The strength of the book is perhaps is also its only weakness (only just!). The narrative can get a bit monotonous as you are always reading a list of things, and you can only read a certain number of pages in one go as your brain assimilates the information overload. Also, there is an inherent bias towards Amitabh Bachchan and his movies, and the fact that Dipta is a huge fan is quite evident :)
If you love Bollywood, and are a trivia geek, this book will give you orgasms :)
I had enjoyed reading Dipta's 'Kitney Aadmi Thay' some time back, but this sequel dramatically expands on that and establishes itself as the magnum opus of Bollywood trivia. The amount of research behind this book is copious and exhaustive, but stringing together all that information in one coherent and engaging narrative is what sets book apart. The overarching structure is akin to a movie storyline, but the categorization of the 100 (Yes!) chapters is very smart which makes it easy to keep reading the book in tranches.
So, how is it different from any other trivia book? That's where Dipta's unique writing style comes into play - fluid, rich in content, crisp, and a constant current of wit and humor. Capturing the context and plot of the movies in short paragraphs is no mean task and Dipta couldn't have done it better. Even though I knew a lot of movies inside out, the distinct style of capturing them ensured I didn't skip a single word. A bulk of movies made multiple appearances, but each time there was a different take on them.
The strength of the book is perhaps is also its only weakness (only just!). The narrative can get a bit monotonous as you are always reading a list of things, and you can only read a certain number of pages in one go as your brain assimilates the information overload. Also, there is an inherent bias towards Amitabh Bachchan and his movies, and the fact that Dipta is a huge fan is quite evident :)
If you love Bollywood, and are a trivia geek, this book will give you orgasms :)
November 18, 2014
Reading Bollybook has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. The effort put into the book is mind-boggling and it shows. This is one of the most comprehensive books on Bollywood and is a must for all fans. Do not miss out on reading this!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews