Bollywood Confidential: A Hilarious Romantic Comedy Where a Struggling Actress Discovers Love in India's Film Industry

by Sonia Singh

After seven years of slogging through film roles too embarrassing to mention, twenty-eight-year-old struggling L.A. actress Raveena Rai has finally been offered a lead! A potentially career-making turn in a major Hollywood epic, perhaps? A meaty part in a serious drama with Oscar® written all over it? Not! To Raveena's great dismay (and her mother's delight) she's flying off to India to star in a new Bollywood extravaganza.

Oh well, a lead is a lead, after all. Never mind that it's a million humid degrees in Bombay, the Los Angeles of the East; that she has to live with a wacko distant uncle who sleeps under furniture and is the most stressed-out wannabe swami on the continent; that her director is a lecherous hack and his movie has the potential of being the very worst flick ever made anywhere! At least Raveena's leading man is the supremely sexy Siddharth, Bollywood's biggest star. But while their on-screen chemistry is electric-hot, off-screen the arrogant hunk treats her with total disdain ... or, worse still, ignores her. Raveena's one consolation is that things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Oh yeah? Want to bet? Lights, camera, action!

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, India, Romance, Indian Literature, Contemporary, Roman

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2005

About the author

Sonia Singh is a first generation Indo-American, born and raised in Orange County, CA. Unlike Maya, the heroine of her debut novel, Godess for Hire, Sonia loves India and travels there once a year.

Reviews

[Library Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Ajoke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Infectiously cute. A really fun and very quick read. A Bollywood flavored chick-lit.

The guiltiest most pleasing thing about the novel is the way the author pokes fun at the Bollywood film industry. And while I love and enjoy Bollywood films, I loved her truthfully addressing some of the issues I have with the industry myself.

Her writing is elementary, different to say the least, and the novel read like listening to a girlfriend recount her adventures in India. Charming.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how this ended up on my ebook TBR, but I am so glad it did as it was surprisingly fun. In fact it was the perfect bit of light fun, especially including all the filming a Bollywood film background included. Though of course I have zero idea how accurate it is. By the way, honoring Bollywood tradition, there is free of smut, though there is some hot lip-locking that leads to a few dramatic moments involving police and tabloids. It's Mumbai after all.

Raveena is a 20 something wanna be actress in Hollywood, dreaming of being the next Gwenyth Paltrow, but thought beautiful and (hopefully) talented, seems destined to be relegated to non-speaking support roles or commericials. Suddenly her agent gets her a starring role in a Bollywood film to made in Mumbai - though as Raveena says, everyone still calls it Bombay. While her male co-star is India's leading romantic lead actor and handsome as can be with dimples no less, and the cinematographer and choreographer are top notch, the director is a spoiled lecherous 30-something Mama's boy with zero skill or talent. It's a quite the adventure Raveena finds herself on - not quite what was promised but it does all end well for her.

Added bonus: there's a lovely section where she's taken on a tour of Mumbai by her co-star - and having been there, I recognized it all.

I'm going to be looking for more by this author. Gave this 3.5 stars bumped up to 4.

Steeplechase Summer Olympics - India 10x.

BWF - Letter "S" only - no 5 Stars tags.

[Mainon · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I think the gold standard for books like this -- fun, lighthearted, "beachy" reads that also expose the reader to a different country -- is Crazy Rich Asians. That book made me want to visit Singapore, and although it was as fun and lighthearted as the title promised, I also felt pretty invested in the characters and learned a lot about Singapore, right down to tidbits of language and etiquette.
Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to that standard. It was fine -- the general plot was fun. But the characters never gained real dimensionality, India as a country never came alive, and I don't think I learned anything that would make this anything more than a not-unpleasant way to pass some time.

[Gerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

Raveena is a twenty-eight year old American-Indian woman, a struggling actress in Hollywood and accepts an offer to be the female star in a Bollywood movie.

But, her promised first class ticket is standard class. Her promised limo to pick her up at the airport isn't there. The hotel she was told was a five star hotel was a dump. The director of this movie has lied to her and her Hollywood agent.

Having been born in America, with Indian born parents, and told how it is in India, she is shocked by the stark differences in the lives of those in India. Rich or poor.

She eventually moves in with her maybe-crazy uncle. The director turns out to be a lech. The one good thing is her co-star, Siddharth.

Raveena makes friends wherever she goes, and her observations were one of the many things I liked in this book. Being an upfront, upbeat woman, she doesn't take well to the back-stabbing of another woman or the director or to how the movie is going: it's horrible.

Everything comes to a head and Raveena decides to fight back. The rest of the story is a Bollywood story.

As I said earlier, I loved this book.

[suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masti read! Great fun read! The author has a nice sense of humor. I especially loved her Bollywood movie recommendations at the end of the book, which are excellent. I've seen 5 of the 10 movies and must now see the 5 I missed.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was recently in India and really got a kick out of Bollywood. Not sure I would have enjoyed the book had I not been familiar with Bollywood films. The ending of the book seemed rather rushed.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute & funny story.

[CeeDragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ready with plenty of laugh out loud moments.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and easy, but predictable.

[Bess · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun and fast-paced, but a little too fast at the end. The main character felt a little flat/entitled/whiny in the beginning, but later became an interesting lens through which to see India and pick apart some stereotypes while unfortunately reinforcing others.

1) the ending comes as a landslide. Too much is wrapped up too quickly in an epilogue-like fashion, leaving me wondering what the actual point of the book is if so much was not worth elaboration. 2) This is a post-me-too quibble for a pre-me-too book: I really wish that instead of a completely random tirade about Bollywood sensibilities (much of which is cultural difference about audience taste and not actually corruption of the industry), it would have been great if she had revealed the sexual impositions that she suffered in the film industry. I mean it was right there in the plot, the author covered it, so why didn't the main character mention it in her dramatic public butterknife assault of her tormentor?

I do get the feeling that the author dislikes Bollywood film. Having some passing knowledge of Indian film and actors helped me understand the book. But I enjoy some of the features that the author seems to dislike. I have seen some pretty terrible Indian films, and some ones that I felt were really great but probably wouldn't hold up to typical American-style criticism. I have also seen some that were critical hits with Americans. But if the cultural point of view is different, do we really need to hold it to American standards?

Since the story dropped off almost completely after the character's public rant against Bollywood films/industry, I'm left wondering if the actual point of the book was for the author to have a laugh/rant against the worst of Bollywood rather than the story being the humorous journey of an Indian-American through the Indian film industry.

[Sammi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t hate this book, and now when I look for a throw away romance to read that really helps.
I think it helped that I actually was fortunate enough to visit India. So I could truly picture the high and low class mingling that the book does s surprisingly decent job of at least showing.
I know next to nothing about Bollywood, so I can’t really comment on that.
The romance itself was rather trite and meh. But (shrugs shoulders). It was worth the time spent reading.

[Rachel Nicoletta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ughhhhhhh what can I say!? This book was amusing at parts but it was also semi boring. I gave it two stars for the little chuckles I had reading it but overall.. for the life of me didn’t capture my attention. Fast short read though.

[Meghan (Wilker) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special, but was something quick to read on a flight to India. I just downloaded library books that were available and had Bollywood in the title. 😂

[Chloe Chesla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Train wreck

[Robina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy comedy with a fad of romance blended in.

Delightful and funny.

[Jeff Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was an enjoyable and easy read.

The narrative provides a glimpse into the inner workings of the Bollywood film industry and offers insights into Indian culture.

However, it must be noted that the storyline was boring and lacked memorability.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsurprising Bollywood romance. Slightly dated, but still fun

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hollywood actress
gets a job in Bollywood
and hijinks ensue; falls for
her Bollywood star co-star; felt like it was using stereotypes around India to do most of the work and didn’t really feel the connection between the mmc & fmc

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The next book I finished was Bollywood Confidential by Sonia Singh.



Raveena is an Indian actress trying to make it in Hollywood films, but she's never gotten her break (except for the Japanese tampon commercial.)




Then she receives the news from her agent--a director wants to give her a starring role in his upcoming movie.....in Bollywood (India.) Not exactly Blockbuster material. But, hey, you have to take what you can get.


Almost everyone in her life tries to talk Raveen out of this by telling her that India is full of disease, full of contaminated water, and that there is no clean lavatory (so, basically, don't use the bathroom the whole time you're there.) I was surprised at this. Most of these characters were Indian. Weren't they suppose to have some kind of pride for their country (like Mexicans and Chinese?) I guess, that's why they left their country, huh?


The director of the film--Randy--was a total bastard! He did not send to pick up Raveena at the air port when she first arrived in Bombay. The writer did a good job depicting the chaos and lewd behavior. I would've cried myself to sleep the first night too.


Siddart is the famous Bollywood actor known for his romantic films that he is tired of doing. He grudgingly takes on the co-starring role with Raveena and treats like crap instantly. But his demeanor quickly softens when he's alone with her.


As I kept on reading, my interest started to wane. Some parts were kind've boring, like when Siddarth takes her on a little tour of Bombay. I also thought Siddarth was a cowardly wimp--so very UN-hunky. If you ask me, I thought he just didn't deserve Raveena. He's always concerned about what other people think. By the end, they sort've had a blase ending with the whole "happily ever after" thing.


This book was just OKAY. The good thing is that you can finish this book in two days! I think it could've used some more editing too.

[Culture-Vulture · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's better than her "Goddess for Hire". (I bought her books at a book sale, after I got drawn in by the attractive colours of the cover art.) I laughed a few times, and the story (all except for the hurried conclusion) was better than the previous novel.

Two stars.

[Bettina Lippenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flache Handlung!

Raveena Rai ist Schauspielerin. Bisher allerdings zu ihrem Leidwesen als Statistin, mit wenig oder gar keinem Text. Ein Angebot aus Indien soll das ändern. Sie soll die Hauptrolle spielen in einem Bollywood Film. Es gibt nur ein Problem, Raveena hasst Bollywood!
Trotzdem reist sie nach Bombay und landet, nach einigen Stunden des Wartens, der versprochene Wagen kommt nicht, in einem drittklassigen Hotel. Ihr einziges Glück ist Onkel Heeru lebt auch in Bombay. Schon am nächsten Tag zieht sie bei ihm ein.
Sie lernt den Regisseur Randy Kapoor kennen. Raveena ist sofort klar, den kann sie nicht leiden. Wenigstens ist ihr Siddarth, er spielt die männliche Hauptrolle, obwohl er sie zu ignorieren scheint, nicht ganz unsympathisch.
Die Aufnahmen zu einem nicht wirklich erfolgsversprechenden Film beginnen!

Die Geschichte dreht sich fast außnahmslos um Raveena und ihrem Weg nach Indien, die Aufnahmen zum Film und ihrem Leben in der ihr fremden Stadt.
Sie muss die Anzüglichkeiten des Regisseurs ertragen. Die etwas durchgeknallte Art ihres Onkels Heeru akzeptieren lernen, sie mag ihn am Schluss sehr gerne, und sich mit der Ignoranz von Siddarth herumschlagen.

Fazit:
Leider bleibt die Geschichte zu oberflächlich. Die Liebesgeschichte kommt ins hintertreffen und am Schluss wird so etwas wie ein Happy End hingeworfen. Fragen wie : Warum sucht Siddarth nach Raveena. Woher weiß er das er sie in den Slums suchen muss und in welcher Hütte, bleiben alle unbeantwortet. Dies alles hätte mich schon interessiert.
Deshalb von mir nur drei Sterne. Schade!

[Marfita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Indian food. I've seen the Indian music videos culled from their movies. I thought this might be interesting and a bit different. Well, it's sort of a Comic Romance. But, fortunately for me, there was enough description about India and the business side of Bollywood for me to ignore the romance bit.
American-born Raveena's career in Hollywood isn't going well. There isn't much call there for Asians so when she's offered a starring role in a Bollywood film, she's convinced by her friends she should go. Right away things start to go wrong. The only thing that turns out to be true is that it's a starring role in a Bollywood film. Her accommodations are so poor that she gladly moves in with her uncle. Although reputed to be a swami, her uncle is cantankerous and more than a bit odd. [I wish there could have been more made of his backstory. He sounds interesting.]
Raveena's co-star is just the most famous leading man in Bollywood, who only is in this film as a favor to the director's father. The director himself is a cheeseball with his eye on the casting couch.
Many amusing catastrophes later, Raveena is on the run from the police. Good golly, how did we get to this?
While the story is pretty uniformly amusing, I thought the climax was a bit over the top ... and then I remembered the rest of the story.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

A promising chick-lit novel whose heroine appears (at first) to push the chick lit heroine stereotypes: Raveena Rai is Indian-American, single, a struggling actress, and ambivalent about her ethnic and cultural identities. She travels to Bombay/Mumbai to play the leading role in a Bollywood film. Sonia Singh writes some potentially meaningful scenes and themes, such as Raveena and (the romantic love interest and Bollywood star) Siddarth's conversation about the role of the Bollywood film industry as a cultural, religious, and ethnic unifier in India; Raveena's friendship with Siddarth's feisty feminist younger sister Sachi; the exploitation of actresses by predatory directors, the extremes of poverty and wealth in Bombay. Unfortunately, this potential is undermined by often juvenile writing, gaping plot holes (Singh leaves several plot points unresolved), and an implausible, flat conclusion.

[Keksisbaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raveena tingelt von einer Statistenrolle zur nächsten in der Hoffnung auf den großen Durchbruch in Hollywood. Sie ist das Kind indischer Einwanderer. Diesem Umstand und einem japanischen Werbespot für Tampons verdankt sie einem Engagement für einen Bollywoodfilm. Völlig naiv nimmt sie die Rolle an und macht sich auf das indische Kino zu erobern. Nur gestaltet sich das nicht ganz so einfach wie gedacht, wenn der Poduzent ein selbstherrlicher, schmieriger Weiberheld ist und der Co-Star ein Halbgott Bollywoods. Dieses Buch ist sehr sehr seichte Unterhaltung. Die Liebesgeschichte bleibt hinter der Einführung ins Thema Bollywood zurück. Sonia Singh schreibt weder sehr orginell noch außergewöhnlich witzig. Es ist halt ein Buch was man zwischendrin lesen kann, einfach nur zur Entspannungl. Und selbst wenn die Gedanken einmal für fünf Seiten abschweifen hat man nicht unbedingt etwas verpasst.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 3 out of 5]

The time is right for some trashy, fluffy desi chick lit. (mostly to give my poor brain a rest after work-related stress) This book is about Raveena, an American-born Indian actress who is struggling to make it in Hollywood. She gets her "big break" when she is offered a leading role in a Bollywood film-- a genre of which she is not at all a fan of.

"Bollywood Confidential" was a very quick read. It clocks in at just over 200 pages and is made up of lots of short chapters. There were some funny bits in there, but not quite enough to make it a stellar chick-lit read. I enjoyed the way the author poked fun at the Bollywood film industry, since that is the role that I usually play in my house: Chief Bollywood Mocker.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh god, I don't remember her first novel being so bad! I hate that I spent a day reading this, but am comforted by the fact that I only paid a penny for it. Poor punctuation/sentence structure makes for very choppy reading. Add to that the childish writing and oh-so-predictable plot (with an ending that is so sweet and perfect you can only get away with it in a Bollywood film - and while most people realize that books often do not translate well to film, the same is true for the reverse!) made it a huge disappointing waste of time.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was my first foray into chick lit and it is the reason why I don't underestimate the genre. I picked up a review copy sent to the newspaper where I worked at the time and read the book in a weekend. Sure it's a fairy tale but it's a very charming one. Plus tackling the experience of an American-born Indian woman in India in a way that is both humorous and intelligent while staying within the parameters of the genre is a beautiful feat. I went on to read the one about the psychic next.

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terribly written, and the final chapter is basically an outline for what the last several chapters should have been, but still an acceptable nighttime read for when you have already turned your brain off. The author's note at the end has a list of her 10 favorite Bollywood movies, but does not include Dil Se (aka DANCING ON TOP OF A SLOWLY MOVING TRAIN), so I question the validity of the list. Also, I have weird feelings about a white girl being so culture-adoptive, but maybe she married into it, so I will give her the benefit of the doubt.

[Margaret]

This book was really enjoyable - kind of a culture-shocked chick lit story! Raveena was a very down to earth modern young woman who maybe didn't always make the best choices but luckily everything turned out well in the end. I could picture crazy Uncle Heeru feeding the birds. Raveena's friends at home and her family helped round her out as a real character. I also liked that Siddharth, although a drop dead hunk, wasn't perfect. This book was a very fun read and better than I thought it might be!