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Bollygeek: The Crazy Trivia Guide to Bollywood
The Indian cine-goer's fascination for Bollywood is unending - and then there are those who really like to get their elbows into it dum lagaa ke!
Which is why this book, stuffed with super-gyaan (yes, there is a science to the movies as well!) and sprinkled with quirky illustrations is a must-have for anyone in love with or just plain confused by all that goes on in Bollywood.
Among the many masaaledar nuggets it features are:
* The rulebook on how to plan a filmi elopement;
* Fifteen jailers who terrorized prisoners (and the jailbreaks that had wardens quaking at the knees);
* Colourful stories that reveal why people get drunk in the movies;
* Ten on-screen detectives who had crime on their minds, even if they could never solve them;
* Three ways suhaag raats unfold *cough* in Hindi cinema.
And there's much more! From tragedy and mystery to heartbreak and victory Bollygeek opens up the obsessive, compulsive and addictive world of Hindi cinema like never before. You don't want to miss out on this one!
Which is why this book, stuffed with super-gyaan (yes, there is a science to the movies as well!) and sprinkled with quirky illustrations is a must-have for anyone in love with or just plain confused by all that goes on in Bollywood.
Among the many masaaledar nuggets it features are:
* The rulebook on how to plan a filmi elopement;
* Fifteen jailers who terrorized prisoners (and the jailbreaks that had wardens quaking at the knees);
* Colourful stories that reveal why people get drunk in the movies;
* Ten on-screen detectives who had crime on their minds, even if they could never solve them;
* Three ways suhaag raats unfold *cough* in Hindi cinema.
And there's much more! From tragedy and mystery to heartbreak and victory Bollygeek opens up the obsessive, compulsive and addictive world of Hindi cinema like never before. You don't want to miss out on this one!
336 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2021
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 22, 2021
Right when I thought there's no more Bollywood trivia left to be covered beyond his previous books, Diptakirti came up with another epic - and I must say, the one I enjoyed the most. There are 50+ wide-ranging topics, and each topic is a collection of how various movies through the ages have represented them. It's mind-boggling how he has managed to watch, remember and organize 6-7 decades of Bollywood movies (and incidents within them) into coherent chapters - some of which are wacky to the extreme (types of auctions, footwear, glasses, card games, etc.!!). What ties all of this together is his signature writing style - fluid, crisp, and laced with wit, humor & puns. Even though I knew a bunch of movies inside out, the distinct style of capturing them ensured I didn't skip a single word. The flowcharts and infographics are a new dimension that he adds in this book, and they are absolutely brilliant in explaining the various "formulae" that Bollywood has employed across time.
The inherent bias and love for Amitabh Bachchan is evident again though, but I won't penalize the hardcore fan by deducting a star. Especially after his uber-gracious gesture to credit me in the acknowledgements chapter - definitely the only time my name will be printed in a book :P
Replugging what I wrote in the review of Bollybook - If you love Bollywood, and are a trivia geek, this book will give you orgasms :)
The inherent bias and love for Amitabh Bachchan is evident again though, but I won't penalize the hardcore fan by deducting a star. Especially after his uber-gracious gesture to credit me in the acknowledgements chapter - definitely the only time my name will be printed in a book :P
Replugging what I wrote in the review of Bollybook - If you love Bollywood, and are a trivia geek, this book will give you orgasms :)
June 14, 2021
Disclaimer: The author is a good friend of mine and I have had the privilege of discussing hours of Bollywood minutiae with him over the years, competed with and against him in Bollywood quizzes and had the good fortune of being called out in acknowledgements in his previous book. We may be thick friends with a common obsession but do draw the line in the sand when it comes to our undying loyalty to Rafi (me) and Kishore (him).
This book gave me a lot of joy because Diptakirti has found the right balance between intellectualizing Bollywood yet not robbing of its puerile charms. As someone who has set Bollywood quizzes through the years, I know what he means when he says that trivia in Bollywood is not given its right place under the sun. The precise reason why Bollywood trivia is not considered weighty enough is what gives it its charm. Diptakirti has tapped into it very precisely in this book. Whether it is a treatise on nothing good coming off in hotels in Hindi films to the algorithm of how memory is lost and regained in Hindi movies, he writes it with a humorous hand. The flow charts and the Venn diagrams are a lovely touch as well. There is enough for the hard core trivia buffs (cue Amit Kumar singing a line for Amitabh in the Rafi qawalli Purdah hai Purdah in AAA) or those who might think movies started a bit recently with Hrithik Roshan tossing spectacles when blessed with superpowers by an alien in Koi Mil Gaya (hilariously described as a cross between Smurfs and E.T.).
The end goal of this book is not so much to go out and prepare for a Bollywood Quiz but to nod your head at these patterns that he has called out, the nuggets that you may or may not have known and the clever puns (Bevdas and Devdas headline the title on alcoholism) that litter the landscape. I had a blast reading this and will also admit to have learnt a few things I was unaware of before.
I am looking forward to the next book from Diptakirti. On a lighter note, my challenge to him would be to write a book without so unabashedly touting the superiority of Bengalis in Hindi films.
Go pick your copy now!
This book gave me a lot of joy because Diptakirti has found the right balance between intellectualizing Bollywood yet not robbing of its puerile charms. As someone who has set Bollywood quizzes through the years, I know what he means when he says that trivia in Bollywood is not given its right place under the sun. The precise reason why Bollywood trivia is not considered weighty enough is what gives it its charm. Diptakirti has tapped into it very precisely in this book. Whether it is a treatise on nothing good coming off in hotels in Hindi films to the algorithm of how memory is lost and regained in Hindi movies, he writes it with a humorous hand. The flow charts and the Venn diagrams are a lovely touch as well. There is enough for the hard core trivia buffs (cue Amit Kumar singing a line for Amitabh in the Rafi qawalli Purdah hai Purdah in AAA) or those who might think movies started a bit recently with Hrithik Roshan tossing spectacles when blessed with superpowers by an alien in Koi Mil Gaya (hilariously described as a cross between Smurfs and E.T.).
The end goal of this book is not so much to go out and prepare for a Bollywood Quiz but to nod your head at these patterns that he has called out, the nuggets that you may or may not have known and the clever puns (Bevdas and Devdas headline the title on alcoholism) that litter the landscape. I had a blast reading this and will also admit to have learnt a few things I was unaware of before.
I am looking forward to the next book from Diptakirti. On a lighter note, my challenge to him would be to write a book without so unabashedly touting the superiority of Bengalis in Hindi films.
Go pick your copy now!
July 11, 2021
Diptakirti's new book is aptly titled. It is bursting at the seams with lists, maps and infographics which present a blueprint of mainstream Hindi cinema and its profusion of formulas. Even hardened Bollywood buffs will discover a thing or ten. In addition to the witty writing style that pervades through all his books, "Bollygeek" gains from the writer's uncanny ability to draw connections between scenes, actors, filmmakers, songs, themes and even mundane (or not-so-mundane) props. And as you emerge out of his little Bollywood curio shop, you can't help but wonder: does this man have all of this information catalogued in his brain? Or has he recorded and indexed every little detail from every Hindi film ever made?
March 22, 2021
Now that was a fun read!
Before I share my views on this book I'd like to request Tamil movie junkies to write a trivia guide to Tamil cinema just like this one. Please make it happen, lest I take matters into my own hands.
Bollygeek: The Crazy Trivia Guide to Bollywood by Diptakirti Chaudhuri is a pleasure to read!
As the title suggests, what we get is a book filled to the brim with morsels of information and lesser-known nuggets from the colourful world of Bollywood. Chapters range from God, jobs, festivals, attires, and appearances in Hindi cinema to random trivia on the industry. Packed with references and facts about movies from earlier periods to more recent ones, Bollygeek serves as an engrossing and informative read.
A 300 page book all about movies you've probably watched before may get monotonous real soon, thankfully that isn’t the case with Bollygeek which presents facts and other pearls of wisdom in the most amusing way. You can find loads of bonus details in the form of tables, graphs, charts, Venn diagrams, etc (you name it, this book has it).
I don't think it's necessary to have watched all the films mentioned in the book as the author does a great job at explaining key plot points anyway. Chaudhuri’s writing makes this book absorbing. It is well researched, and credits have been given to the sources where it's due.
Hate to admit I haven't watched (or even heard of) a few movies mentioned here, but I'm thrilled to check them out. I mean, did any of you know Bollywood had alien movies before Koi Mil Gaya? Because I didn't. (I just found "Diya Aur Toofan" on YouTube and you bet I'm gonna watch it right away)
Kudos to the author for calling out the lack of fat rep in Hindi cinemas. It almost goes without saying that a fat actor is meant to play the lead's funny best friend, and heaven knows that practice needs to change. The one problem I had with this book was that it spoke about a couple of movies (read: 3 Idiots and Jagga Jasoos) way too many times.
Nevertheless, you'd enjoy this book if you're a voracious Bollywood trivia buff or even if your Hindi cinema knowledge is limited to Shah Rukh Khan's movies that came out in the 90s.
Bollygeek won't just help you rediscover films you watched growing up, but it'll also force you to add a few gems to your To Be Watched list.
No, this isn't the ultimate Hindi movie encyclopedia, yet it's a must-have for Bollywood fans.
Before I share my views on this book I'd like to request Tamil movie junkies to write a trivia guide to Tamil cinema just like this one. Please make it happen, lest I take matters into my own hands.
Bollygeek: The Crazy Trivia Guide to Bollywood by Diptakirti Chaudhuri is a pleasure to read!
As the title suggests, what we get is a book filled to the brim with morsels of information and lesser-known nuggets from the colourful world of Bollywood. Chapters range from God, jobs, festivals, attires, and appearances in Hindi cinema to random trivia on the industry. Packed with references and facts about movies from earlier periods to more recent ones, Bollygeek serves as an engrossing and informative read.
A 300 page book all about movies you've probably watched before may get monotonous real soon, thankfully that isn’t the case with Bollygeek which presents facts and other pearls of wisdom in the most amusing way. You can find loads of bonus details in the form of tables, graphs, charts, Venn diagrams, etc (you name it, this book has it).
I don't think it's necessary to have watched all the films mentioned in the book as the author does a great job at explaining key plot points anyway. Chaudhuri’s writing makes this book absorbing. It is well researched, and credits have been given to the sources where it's due.
Hate to admit I haven't watched (or even heard of) a few movies mentioned here, but I'm thrilled to check them out. I mean, did any of you know Bollywood had alien movies before Koi Mil Gaya? Because I didn't. (I just found "Diya Aur Toofan" on YouTube and you bet I'm gonna watch it right away)
Kudos to the author for calling out the lack of fat rep in Hindi cinemas. It almost goes without saying that a fat actor is meant to play the lead's funny best friend, and heaven knows that practice needs to change. The one problem I had with this book was that it spoke about a couple of movies (read: 3 Idiots and Jagga Jasoos) way too many times.
Nevertheless, you'd enjoy this book if you're a voracious Bollywood trivia buff or even if your Hindi cinema knowledge is limited to Shah Rukh Khan's movies that came out in the 90s.
Bollygeek won't just help you rediscover films you watched growing up, but it'll also force you to add a few gems to your To Be Watched list.
No, this isn't the ultimate Hindi movie encyclopedia, yet it's a must-have for Bollywood fans.
October 29, 2023
Loaded with infographics and lot of Bollywood tit bits , you will love it if you are an ardent fan of Hindi cinema . Though the last 50 pages feel like a forced attempt to add more pages to the complex world of Bollywood, you will thoroughly enjoy the facts and similarities in the other chapters
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews