Bioscope: A Frivolous History of Bollywood in Ten Chapters

by Diptakirti Chaudhuri

‘Is kahani mein drama hai, emotion hai, tragedy hai…’

A non-linear, light-hearted rollercoaster ride of a book, Bioscope presents a quirky history of Hindi cinema through unconventional, curated ‘lists’ that will delight die-hard fans and novices alike.

Highlighting 10 aspects that give Hindi films their distinctive flavour, the selections – of villainous types and hit pairs, genius compositions and unforgettable lyrics, memorable scripts and filmy fashion from the pre-Independence days right down to the present – pack in trivia, gossip, recommendations and deep insight.

By turns opinionated and emotional – and always superbly entertaining – Bioscope will inspire its readers to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of Hindi cinema.

Genres: Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2018

About the author

Diptakirti 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.

Reviews

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun light read for Bollywood fans with some interesting facts thrown in now and then. Good for reading while traveling.

[Nirav Mehta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would recommend this book to bollywood buffs (like myself), who would not mind spending a couple of hours looking back, reminiscing, gathering trivia, learning new tid-bits about the movie industry. The format is interesting, where the author tries to look at history through 10 specific vantage points - some of which were a drag (like the song objects, fashion, etc), and it felt like the author was a victim of the format itself. Nevertheless, would be of interest for people who love bollywood, especially the yesteryears

[Suhel Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimers: (1) I am a friend of the author (2) I have been mentioned in the acknowledgements and (3) I had provided feedback during the writing stage of the book.

Dipta is my favourite Bollywood trivia chronicler, and I say that neither in spite of nor because of the disclaimers above, but because he simply is. We share a love for trivia and Bollywood, and his mind works in ways that mine can't, so I look forward to him absorbing, distilling, and producing nugget sized gems from our shared love of Hindi cinema.

This is his 4th book on Bollywood and 3rd dedicated to just Bollywood trivia. After writing the ultimate epic on the subject, "Bollybook" it's remarkable that he could find more content for 200 pages neatly divided into 10 distinct chapters full of lists. He owns this medium and format.

So why 4 stars you ask? I will be honest, if this was his 1st book on this subject I would have given it a 5 (because I couldn't give it a six). However, after having read Bollybook the expectations were a little unreal, more so because of the very strict structure he's restricted himself to in this book.

But make no mistake, if you enjoy snippets of unknown or oft forgotten trivia from our favourite world of Bollywood and have like minded friends whom you can share it with or challenge, this is a must buy, must read. I can conduct many Bollywood only quizzes just from this book alone, each question passing the strictest of quality tests. This man is a niche genius.

Having totally mastered this format, my request to Dipta would be to follow up to his Written By Salim Javed novel with something non-list based, lots of first hand research, and not losing his magic with the anecdotes and trivia.

[Anal Ghosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer upfront - I know Dipta personally very well, but that has no bearings on this review.

Having read two of Dipta's comprehensive Bollywood trivia books in the past, I was certain that there is not much left for another similar book to pique my interest. But boy I was wrong - not only the 200+ pages are stuffed with wonderful nuggets of trivia, the unique format of organizing them in 10 different themes is absolute genius. In doing that, he has somehow managed to cover the entire timeline of Bollywood through a brisk narrative within each theme, laced with his trademark wit and humor. The chapters on the plot inspirations, on-screen jodis and musical jodis stood out as my favorites.

However, I feel Dipta got a bit chained by his own format. Not all of the 10 chapters are able to create the same impact (fashion, songs) and some selections can appear contrived. But it doesn't derail breezy nature of the book, and you can't put it down once you start. A treat for all Bollywood buffs!

[Larry Bone · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is amazing what Diptakirti Chaudhuri could put together about Bollywood in just 10 short chapters. The book has so much depth on villains and expats. His choice of Hindi language descriptive phrases capture the buoyant spirit of Hindi films. Katrina Kaif's first film was kind of on the borderline in a lot of ways, yet she parlayed a foot in the door into into a very viable career. She was an outsider who never cared what others thought, an example Tapsee Pannu and Rajkumar Rao have adopted and followed to best results. There were a lot of interesting facts and really great film watch lists. I didn't find it frivolous at all but maybe that was a sales point to widen the potential reading prospects since Chaudhuri is a salesman as well as a writer, which every writer needs to have a bit of. Or having any at all helps.

[Anirudha Bhattacharjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by Diptakirti I managed to close in a day. Like his previous books barring the one on Salim-Javed, it is a book of lists arranged in a manner which is nice and pleasing to the eye. And to the mind as well. I have been a trivia hunter during my college days, and I see that younger people like Dipta are carrying on the tradition :)

No, it is not a book embedded with trivia which will blow your top. It is a book which lives up to its name - Frivolous history. It is light. It does not carry any literary pretense, nor any intellectual aura. It is a book which makes you feel good. And you also manage to retain some of the information which Dipta has covered in the book.

For people who love to read up on Bollywood, go for it.

[Parth Pandya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was involved in reviewing some parts of the book as it was being written.

The book has a very interesting premise - attempting ten lists of ten items each. Diptakirti spans a gamut of topics that satisfies readers. As a Bollywood trivia geek, I don't get surprised too often, but this book still managed to do so.

My only grudge would be that not all chapters have the same gravitas. My favorite was the chapter on the much neglected expats in Bollywood.

Written with passion and sprinkled with humor, this is a light breezy read that fans of Bollywood should pick up.

[Suman Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a Bollywood fan who does not like watching movies. I just read about them. Therefore I found this book a superb compilation of lists with some delightful stories and anecdotes. This is an "opinionated" book (as the author says), but that doesn't bother me. I am sure, other Bollywood fans might have issues with the contents of the lists in the book. Even so, I think most Bollywood fans would have fun reading this book.

[Divya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know much about Bollywood, and I barely watch movies, but as a trivia buff (irrespective of topic), this book definitely took up my knowledge by many notches! It's an easy read, and super entertaining.

Highly recommended to anyone who wants to Bollywood fans, trivia fans, and just anyone looking for a timepass read!

Disclaimer: I know the author, but these views are my own.

[Ayushi Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like cinema and history, this is the book. The format of the book makes it so much easier and fun to read. It not only gives you anecdotes about films but also interlinks it with historical events (that may or may not have gotten the attention they deserved). Well researched, well written, not just in a sense of describing what just cinema means for the author but also what principles and ideas that the author believes in. Beautiful book.

[Shivani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the format, would have appreciated more analysis. Too simplistic.

[Diptakirti Chaudhuri]

Ahem.
Pre-order link is up. Kindle editions being delivered. Why am I the one writing a review?
Oh wait... I need to add this to my Goodreads challenge for the year!