Hindi film characters with books, Part 2

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Just last month, on the occasion of World Book Day (in Britain and some other parts of the world), I published a post on characters in English-language cinema who are readers. This post had been inspired by a much earlier post, from some years back, where I had listed characters from Hindi cinema who are shown with books. This time, for the English books post, a blog reader suggested I do a sequel to the post on books in Hindi cinema.

And why not, I thought. After all, books aren’t all that uncommon in Hindi films. True, Life magazine or newspapers do seem to rule the roost when it comes to people reading, but there are books to be seen now and then.

Today, April 23, is the day designated by UNESCO as World Book Day. And here is the sequel to that long-ago post on characters in Hindi cinema with books: another instalment of screenshots of Hindi film characters with books; and not just characters with books in the background, such as this:

… but characters actually holding the book, referring to the book, talking about it or reading it. Occasionally, having read it (and perhaps gotten bored by it, as in the case of Daisy Irani’s character in Talaaq, below?)

Of course, none of these are repeats from the previous post. All films are pre-1970s Hindi films that I’ve seen, and all the books are identifiable by name, even if not actually real books.

In no particular order:

1. Feroze Khan with Pret Atma (Woh Koi Aur Hoga, 1967): That ‘even if not actually real books’ disclaimer in my introduction to this post was meant largely for this item. Woh Koi Aur Hoga was a hot mess of a film, all about a genius (but unscrupulous) professor who, in cahoots with a gang of murderers, covers the bodies of the unfortunate victims with wax to convert them into very life-like ‘statues’. Ugh. The creepiness is enhanced by having Feroz Khan’s character, who investigates these spooky goings-on, read a suitable novel: ‘Pret Atma’, or ‘ghost’ isn’t, as far as I’ve been able to tell, an actually published book. Given that the back cover of this book is all in English, it’s obvious that this is just a badly-put-together prop.

2. Krishan Dhawan with Jawaharlal Nehru’s Meri Kahaani (Kaala Bazaar, 1960): Like several other memorable characters in Hindi cinema who serve to enlighten and inspire others, Krishan Dhawan’s character in Kaala Bazaar is the one who, after a chance meeting with Dev Anand’s black marketeer, becomes his teacher, so to say. It’s not as if Raghu is outright illiterate; it’s just that he’s never had the time or inclination to read. But now, having fallen in love with a girl who brings out the better feelings within him, and having met a man who might show him the way, Raghu begins to turn over a new leaf. This particular frame has Raghu’s guru surrounded by books (none of which, except this one, being easily identifiable), and it sets the tone. Nehru is the man Raghu should emulate.

3. Nazir Husain with The Poetical Works of John Keats (Anuradha, 1960): A very interesting, and very telling, choice of book, as one can see from the second screenshot, where the camera zooms in on the flyleaf, where the name of the owner of this copy of Keats’s poems is inscribed. Anuradha Rai (though why she’s written her name in Hindi on a book in English is a little puzzling). The Anuradha of the now is a housewife, neglected and bored, a woman who has been forced by circumstances to leave behind the music and the poetry that were once her life. Her mouldering sitar and her dusty books lying forgotten on the shelf are a poignant reminder of all that Anuradha was, and a sad reflection of what she has now become.

4. Unidentified actor with Indian Economics (Ek ke Baad Ek, 1960): I don’t know who this character actor is, though he does look very familiar: I have seen him before too. Here, in a film about family planning, he plays the part of a professor of economics at a college. The film begins with the professor’s lecture, as he talks about how the burgeoning population of India has created problems for its economy, and how, if the population is not controlled, per capita income will continue to fall and there will be further distress: natural disasters, famine, and so on, the Malthusian Theory of Economics. That this man should be carrying in his hand Kewal Krishna Dewett and Gurcharan Singh’s Indian Economics is logical—a thoughtfully placed prop.

5. Sohrab Modi and Mehtab with The Bhagavad Gita (Jhansi ki Rani, 1953): Another teacher, teaching in this case not a classful of students, but just one student: Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi (Mehtab) with the Rajguru of Jhansi (Sohrab Modi). Taking it upon himself to train the young queen (beginning from when she’s a little girl), the Rajguru teaches her through the years but this is the only specific book we see him discussing with his pupil is the Gita. The one section of the scripture the Rajguru focusses on is karmanye vaadhikaaraste maa phaleshu kadachana: it is your right to work, to perform deeds, not your right the fruit of those deeds.

6. Daisy Irani with Three Little Pigs (Talaq, 1958): Personally, I like to see children with books. Start them off young, and hopefully they will develop a love for reading that will help them grow up into more aware, more open-minded, more interesting people. Daisy Irani’s character in Talaq doesn’t have parents who are the best examples of all those virtues—Rajendra Kumar and Kamini Kadam play people who are woefully suspicious, selfish and self-opinionated, to the detriment of their child—but anyway. At least they’ve got their toddler started off on books, so not all hope is lost.

7. Sunil Dutt with Shudraka’s Vasantsena (Sadhana, 1958): … Vasantsena being the name of the play Sunil Dutt’s character, a professor, gives to what is more usually nowadays known as Mrichhakatikam (‘The Little Clay Cart’). A professor of literature, this man is about to teach Vasantsena to his class, and begins the scene by explaining part of the background: what the play is about; how the ‘principled’ and ‘virtuous’ protagonist of the play, Charudatta, falls in love with the courtesan Vasantsena, and what insights the playwright Shudraka offers into the society of his time through the play.

Like Pret Atma in Woh Koi Aur Hoga, also a hint at what’s happening in the film itself, since Sunil Dutt’s character goes on to fall in love with a tawaif). However, this one’s rather better done as a prop.

8. Rajesh Khanna reads BA Psychology Made Easy (Do Raaste, 1969): Students, especially college students, are among the most obvious readers in Hindi cinema (as can be seen by several of the scenes mentioned in this post). Rajesh Khanna’s character in Do Raaste, in fact, is shown in the course of the film with not just one identifiable book, but two. In an early scene in the film, he pulls a prank on a pretty classmate (Mumtaz) by pinning a note on the back of her kurta, and sniggering when she glares at him. The book he’s reading there is not just shown upside-down, but inverted: the book seems to be Humphrey J Fisher’s Prayer, but I can’t be absolutely certain.

However, this one is rather clearer. The girl in question, now his girlfriend, gets her own back by teasing him while he’s trying to get some studying done. Bindiya chamkegi, churi khankegi is a classic song of distracting someone willfully, and the man gets very distracted: enough to look away from BA Psychology Made Easy.  The book, part of the College Made Easy Series (you can see the series title at the top), doesn’t seem to be available any more, though other books of the series can still be found in various libraries.

Totally arbitrary bit of trivia: This is one of three songs I remember, offhand, that have an identifiable book featured in the song. Tum pukaar lo (from Khamoshi, which starred Rajesh Khanna!) has Waheeda Rehman carrying Meghdutam, and in Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore is reading Alistair MacLean’s When Eight Bells Toll while Rajesh Khanna sings Mere sapnon ki rani to her. There’s an affinity, it seems, between books and the characters Khanna played.

Even better, Rajesh Khanna appears in yet another song—Humein tumse mohabbat hai magar hum keh nahin sakte, from Aurat (1967) —in which he’s reading a book. That book has no identifiable title to be seen, so I’m not listing it here; but for what it’s worth…

9. Dilip Kumar reads Mahatma Gandhi ki Aatmakatha (Paigham, 1959): Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, of course, was formally titled My Experiments with Truth; but—as you can see from this listing on Amazon—at least one Hindi version of it has been marketed as his autobiography (or aatmakatha), with a cover reference to the more well-known English title. Incidentally, Gandhiji wrote the book originally in Gujarati, as Satya na Prayogo, ‘Experiments with Truth’.

Dilip Kumar’s character in Paigham, a man named Ratan, is first shown in this scene; we see his face only when he lowers the book. It’s an apt introduction to the man, who upholds truth, and isn’t scared to speak up for it, even in the face of oppression and potential doom. In fact, there’s a scene later in the film where a mill-owner (Motilal) in whose factory Ratan works (and subsequently sets up a trade union) sneeringly asks Ratan if he’s trying to pretend to be Gandhi, with all this righteous indignation.

10. Simi Garewal and Nanda with Aapke Geet (Teen Deviyaan, 1965): I began this list with a fictitious book, a book that doesn’t really exist. I end this list with another, and this one with a bonus appearance: two characters, in two different scenes, read it—because it is gifted to both of them by the writer. The writer (Dev Anand’s character, called Dev Dutt Anand), though he earns his living from his work at a music shop, also writes nazms. These he’s managed to get published in the form of a book, titled Aapke Geet (or Aap ke Geet, as it’s written on the cover): and two copies of these are given to two women he thinks will appreciate his poetry. One is the girl next door, Nanda (Nanda), whom he presents it to while they’re out on a picnic in a cornfield. The other is the stylish socialite Simi, who receives it in the post.

Do you have any more books, seen onscreen, to add to this list? Please share. And, Happy World Book Day!

37 thoughts on “Hindi film characters with books, Part 2”

    • Thank you! And, to answer your question: I believe so! :-) Some months back, when I was doing research for this post, I stumbled upon a Twitter/X account of someone who actually chronicles characters reading books in Hindi cinema. All new cinema, I think mostly from contemporary films (though some of the more well-known readers – like Sanjeev Kumar in Angoor – are also there).

      You can have a look here:

      https://twitter.com/books_in_movies?lang=en

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  2. interesting topic, and something that I am always on the lookout for while watching any movie.

    Here’s one more to add to your list.

    Vinod Khanna is reading this book Love In The Ruins by Walker Percy, in the song हमको तुमसे in Amar Akbar Anthony.

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      • You’re welcome!

        I thought of another one. In Khotay Sikkay, about 12 minutes into the movie, Danny’s character’s girlfriend is reading a book by Robert Serling, A Plane Is Missing. I think it’s based on Airforce One going missing.

        Incidentally, the author was the brother of Rod Serling, the force behind that much loved Sci-fi series Twilight Zone.

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  3. Lovely post. Read your previous post on books as well. Only certain actors can convincingly read a book in movie. I can imagine Balraj Sahni, Guru Datt, Sadhna, Vahida, Meena Kumari (shayari) reading a book.
    Others when they hold a book in hand, it looked like they want to swat a fly with it (notably Mala Sinha)
    And Dev Anand who actually enjoyed books, was rarely seen with a book in movies. Perhaps he had better pursuits like chasing really good looking lasses…

    Chupke Chupke Chal Ri Purvaiyya
    where Jaya Bhaduri is reading or scrolling through what appears like a botany book.

    In Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye Kaka not only opens the books but look at the dried flower inside the book.

    Ruth Na Jaana where Manisha holds a book only if to avoid Anil Kapoor.

    In Pehla Nasha Mamik is reading a book before Aamir disturbs him.

    If I am not mistaken, in ‘Dil Ek Mandir’, Rajendra Kumar while preparing to operate on Rajkumar reads a lot of books, research papers, magazines etc. In fact, earlier in the movie he loans a magazine to RajKumar for reading.

    Rukh Se Jara Nakab starts with Mala Sinha reading a book.
    Rafi lulls our senses so much that we fail to notice that Nakab is not covering the face.

    In Khairiyat Shraddha Kapoor being a student is carrying books and actually shown reading in canteen and ahem… in Library (rarity for hindi movie)

    And last but not the least, my favorite Andy William’s cover for Love Story
    Would have included even if they did not read a book, but luckily they did although for a brief scene.

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    • Thank you! Not just for the books, but also for songs that feature books. Quite a few, there. And I’m wishing I’d remembered the book that appears in <I>Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye</i> – it probably wouldn’t have appeared here (if I remember correctly, it’s a fictitious book, not a real one?), but even then.

      Books do appear in a lot of films, but actually being able to identify which book it is, is a lot less easy. For example, in the Guru Dutt-Mala Sinha Bahurani, a lot of books are shown (to depict the Guru Dutt character’s ‘enlightenment’) but it’s next to impossible to figure out which these are. Another scene where there are a lot of books on display is from Professor, when Shammi Kapoor’s character visits a bookstore to buy a Sanskrit primer. Loads of books there, including Jane Austen’s Emma.

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  5. What a lovely post. :) A fitting complement to your earlier one.

    Let me add one to the ‘books in songs’ part of it: In <i>Sa re ga ma</i> from <i>Chupke Chupke</i>, Amitabh pauses in the middle of the song to pick up a book from his bookshelf. Unfortunately, you never get to see the title.

    In <i>Angoor</i> Sanjeev Kumar is always shown reading pulp fiction in Hindi. One of the book titles has remained with me: <i>Agyaat Apradhi</i>. :)

    In <i>Jab Jab Phool Khile</i>, I remember Nanda reading <i>Lolita</i> – seemed a rather strange choice for casual reading, especially since she isn’t shown to be a great fan of books.

    In <i>Lal Patthar</i>, Rajkumar is reading a book on Fatehpur Sikri. And Farooque Shaikh reads <i>Managerial Economics</i> in <i>Chashme Budoor</i>

    And from newer films, in <i>Soni</i>, one of the female characters is given a copy of Amrita Pritam’s <i>Rasidi Ticket</i> by her superior; Kalki Koechlin in <i>Dev D.</i> reading Alberto Moravio’s <i>Contempt</i>; in <i>Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na</i>, Ratna Pathak Shah is reading <i>The Beauty Myth</i> by Naomi Wolf, while in <i>Lipstick Under My Burqa</i>, she is always shown reading erotica.

    p.s. In <I>Anand</i>, if I remember right, Rajesh Khanna is holding a book of Urdu poetry, which he opens to reveal a dried rose.

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    • Thank you for all of those, Anu! The newer ones were, of course, new to me. Lolita in Jab-Jab Phool Khile was part of my first post about this topic, so I didn’t include it here. Incidentally, I rewatched Chupke-Chupke (we’re on an old Hindi film spree, in an attempt to get the LO’s Hindi up to scratch) and noticed that book he pulls out of the shelf in the song. Of course, later in the film, AB is shown reading a book on botany…

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  7. I really enjoyed reading this lovely piece. And you’re amazing ―your research, your knowledge, your memory…:))

    And I was thinking of Aradhana (and was confused about Khamoshi, but turns out I was right).

    I can add some movies to the list but (as I said in the first part) they’re all new movies. And as Abhik Ji already mentioned: Angoor (One of my absolute favourites!). 

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    • I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Tarang! And the knowledge and memory aren’t that great – it’s just hard slogging and lots of research. ;-) Plus, of course, the fact that a post like this happens over many months.

      Angoor is a joy, isn’t it. And Sanjeev Kumar’s expression as he reads that book: priceless.

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    • Thank you for pointing that out! Principles of Literary something. The way the title is written (it can be seen fairly clearly at 0:24 in this video), I have a feeling this is probably a rather badly-made prop just for the film. I haven’t seen this one, so I could be wrong.

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  9. Another wonderfully researched and detailed post on books in movies. Loved it! I laughed at the ‘English blurb in a Hindi novel’ part in the first instance! What a blooper! Guess they didn’t know that decades later, a hawk-eyed viewer would catch them out.

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  10. Madhuji, this is a lovely post! It shows how observant you are when you watch films! There is a song in 1942 – A Love Story – Rooth Na Jaana Tumse Kahun To - which is shot in a quaint library and Manisha Koirala attempts to read a book upside down just to escape making eye contact with Anil Kapoor.

    Anita

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  11. Madhu,

    This is a nice post. Some films are based on fictitious books – they are central to the theme. For example, Baagban and PK. Some just show a character holding a book, as a prop. It may not be a real or literary book. Some make efforts to show a literary character. I remember in a film some character holding Jaishankar Prasad’s Kamayani – was it Vijay Anand in Kala Bazaar or Tere Ghar Ke Saamne?

    Some film makers are genuinely literary. I have seen that in a couple of Bengali films when the characters are discussing literary nuances. I would put Govind Nihalani’s Party in that category. In Ardha Satya Smita Patil has an interest in literature. Om Puri asks for the book she was carrying. He opens the bookmarked page and is struck by the poem. As he recites Dilip Chitre’s poem the expression on his face changes from cheer to that of a person struggling with his conflict of a literary sensitive person trapped in police job. The poem at a crucial moment sets the tone of the film.

    Chakravyuh mein ghusne se pehle,kaun tha mein aur kaisa tha,yeh mujhe yaad hi na rahega.

    Chakravyuh mein ghusne ke baad,mere aur chakravyuh ke beech,sirf ek jaanleva nikat’ta thi,iska mujhe pata hi na chalega.

    Chakravyuh se nikalne ke baad,main mukt ho jaoon bhale hi,phir bhi chakravyuh ki rachna meinfarq hi na padega.

    Marun ya maarun,maara jaoon ya jaan se maardun.iska faisla kabhi na ho paayega.

    Soya hua aadmi jabneend se uthkar chalna shuru karta hai,tab sapnon ka sansar use,dobara dikh hi na paayega.

    Us roshni mein jo nirnay ki roshni haisab kuchh samaan hoga kya?

    Ek palde mein napunsakta,ek palde mein paurush,aur theek taraazu ke kaante parardh satya.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC8IQKVPRJM

    AK

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    • I am glad you enjoyed this post, AK. Thank you, and thank you for sharing that excerpt from Ardh Satya – it’s a film I’ve never got around to watching; it was released when I was too young to watch it, and from all that I remember my mother saying about it (violent, very harrowing), I have always steered clear of watching it. Perhaps I should, especially given that it stars some of Hindi cinema’s greatest actors.

      Vijay Anand reads Kamayani in Kaala Bazaar.

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  12. Interestingly, in the latest Imtiyaz Ali movie , Amar Singh Chamkila , the female protagonist , Amarjot Kaur ( Parineeti Chopra ) is almost always with a book especially as the troupe travels to their gigs ( in am ambassador car). These seem to be popular novels though i couldn’t make out the names . Given that the movies is biographical, it is interesting to note that the lady seems to have been a devourer of pulp fiction . The song captures some of these instances .

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  13. Enjoyed the post. I managed to catch up with the earlier post too and both ae excellent.

    One sees characters reading or holding books more often in recent times than before.

    From your timeline, i could recollect Devar (1966). Books play an important role in the film. One sees Deven Verma with and around books but mainly Shashikala is shown to be an avid reader. In one scene, she asks her father to get Charles Dickens novels but ends up getting books on Indian woman, cooking etc. as she is get married. She ends up marrying Dharmendra who has nothing to do with books.

    In another scene, Shashikala’s younger sister (Baby Farida) asks Dharmendra to explain her a story from the book – Short stores by Maupassant.

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    • Thank you so much for that! It’s been many years since I watched Devar, so I’d completely forgotten about the prominence of books in that film. I do remember that another film with the same leading actors – Anupama – had Dharmendra as a poet, who (late in the film) gifts his beloved a collection of his poems. Of course, it’s a fictional book, but still.

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  14. Also, in many horror movies, we either see characters reading some horror or mystery novels or they keep poring over some scriptures or books to learn to fight the evil spirits.

    In Jaani Dushman (1979), Amrish Puri is seen in a train reading The Sixth Pan Book of Horror Stories.

    Another train scene – in film Raaz (1981 release, the least known of the movies titled Raaz), Sulakshana Pandit reads a hindi novel – Maut ki ghati mein.

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