Book Review: Housefull: The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema

Despite the fact that I love reading as much as I enjoy watching films, I don’t read too much cinema-related writing. Part of the reason is that a lot of what I see in bookstores consists of biographies or autobiographies, and I have a horror of picking up one of those, only to find myself reading the sordid details of people’s personal lives. I’m really not interested in that; what I do like to read is about films themselves, and the professional side of those who make them. (Though I’m happy reading anecdotes like how Madan Mohan persuaded Manna Dey to sing Kaun aaya mere mann ke dwaare, or how Mohammad Rafi got to meet his idol).

So, when I came across Om Books International’s Housefull: The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema (Ed. Ziya Us Salam) and saw that it was a collection of mini essays about the best films of the 1950s and 60s, I decided this might be right up my street.

Housefull: The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema

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A book trailer, and some news

Engraved in Stone, the latest in the Muzaffar Jang series, is now available in bookstores as well as online. Here’s a brief book trailer to whet your appetite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdHeDrNwgSs

There’s lots here – history (including plenty about the building of the iconic Taj Mahal), romance, and two mysteries, not just one. Interested? Order your copy now!

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More about Muzaffar…

… and about me, and my sister Swapna. Swapna did a repeat of the Muzaffar Jang walk through some parts of Shahjahanabad – especially Chandni Chowk and just around, for a journalist, Priyanka Kotamraju of The Indian Express. Priyanka interviewed us along the way, and here’s what she came up with: a story about the Liddles and their love of history.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-liddle-world-of-mughals/1035997/0

A ‘very short novel’

I’ve written long fiction. I’ve written short fiction. I’ve even written some flash fiction. So, when I got a mail from Peter Griffin at Forbes India, asking if I’d like to contribute microfiction for a post on the Forbes India blog, I jumped at the idea.

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