Bollywood: The Indian Cinema Story

by Nasreen Munni Kabir

Bollywood is the ultimate guide to the biggest film industry on the planet. As international successes like Dil Se and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam raise the profile of Indian cinema everywhere, Nasreen Munni Kabir takes you inside the colourful world of Bollywood - the romance, the adventure, the heroes and heroines, vamps and villains, songs and dances, stunts and costumes, mythology and traditions that make up this unique branch of film-making.
From popular contemporary love story Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to critically acclaimed drama Mother India, mythological epic Raja Harischandra and action movie Sholay, Bollywood looks at the people behind the movies, featuring exclusive interviews with dozens of actors, directors, writers, composers, designers and crew members.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, India, Cultural

230 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

About the author

Born in India, Nasreen Munni Kabir is a renowned UK-based documentary film-maker who has produced and directed over 80 TV programmes on Hindi cinema for Channel 4 TV, UK, including the series Movie Mahal, In Search of Guru Dutt, Lata in Her Own Voice, and the two-part documentary The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. She has also directed a profile on Ustad Bismillah Khan and on the making of Bombay Dreams, the musical produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber for BBC Television, UK. She continues to curate Channel 4’s annual Indian film seasons.

Author of 16 books on Hindi cinema, Nasreen has served on the board of the British Film Institute for a six-year term. She enjoys subtitling, and has has subtitled over 500 Hindi films. Her last book was Conversations with Waheeda Rehman. She is most remembered for her Guru Dutt biography, titled Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema (OUP, 1996). Nasreen continues live in London.

Reviews

[Catnaitab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good sources from within the industry and really interesting facts about the industry and the audience.

[Les Dangerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the Bollywood film business up to 2001, divided into logical chapters covering heros, heroines, directors, music writers, playback singers, etc. Although I lived in India for a few years, I was often lost by the lists of names from the earlier periods. I'd like to see an update about the period since 2001 - of course, it also leaves out film making from other parts of India, some of which, particularly Bengal, could have a book or books all to themselves.

[Virginia Rand · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book even though I'm a beginner viewer, but it's a bit out of date and it didn't always translate the foreign language titles and lyrics.