Bollywood and the biography boom

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Bollywood and the biography boom

Biographies and autobiographies have suddenly burst on to the scene, proving that Bollywood fans can never tire of reading about the lives of their favourite stars

by

Khalid Mohamed

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Published: Thu 16 Feb 2017, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sun 2 Apr 2017, 8:22 AM

Better late than never. Film autobiographies are happening. Last month witnessed the book launches and cushy sales of Karan Johar's An Unsuitable Boy (which Shah Rukh Khan declared should have been more appropriately titled An Intelligent Boy), and Rishi Kapoor's long anticipated Khullam Khulla, which roughly translates into 'Tell All, No-Holds-Barred'.
My intention in today's column isn't to bang out a review of either of the books. I'd rather take up the topic of how the life and times of film personalities - within 250 pages - are considered a safe-selling bet by India's publishing trade, largely centred in New Delhi.
Not surprisingly, in the course of a brief visit to the
Indian capital, I was approached for such collaborative biographies, the predictable pitch being, "You know quite a few of them so well, you could write it blind-folded." Flattering, yes, but far from being accurate. Truth be told, a journalist can never quite know a film personality, absolutely up close and personal.
A healthy professional distance has to be maintained. If it isn't, there is every likelihood of the result turning out to be a hagiography. Admittedly, I felt quite disappointed (with myself) after a shot at a book, coffee-table albeit, on Amitabh Bachchan over a decade-and-a-half ago. Titled To Be or Not To Be, and released on the actor's 60th birthday, it isn't available any more for love or money at book stores and, I presume, online. "Can you get us a copy? We're willing to pay any price," the demand persists. Bachchan Sr's fan following has swelled - and how! - during the years gone by.
Yet, the heavy tome of a book is not something I relish on listing on my biodata, essentially because the assignment was a command performance of sorts. In recreating the estimable career and personal crests and troughs of Amitabh Bachchan, I could not really probe his heart and mind insightfully.
Certain ticklish questions had to be asked in a roundabout manner. Moreover, a few photographs and paragraphs had to be dropped. Just an occupational hazard, you might say, but I'd rather not take on the responsibility of chronicling an actor's jagged beat than to wince every time I see it on my shelf of keepsakes.
Mr Bachchan is prone to tweeting squelchers and the tiniest semblance of criticism (even if it is directed at myself and not anyone else) on the greats is an invitation for vituperative trolls. Unarguably, Amitabh Bachchan is a great actor and an institution today. By the way, trolling - especially abuses and personal jibes - can also prove that you have ruffled a whole lot of feathers. Hence, I'll leave it at that. Enough said.
Let me also clarify that neither Karan Johar's book nor Rishi Kapoor's are hagiographies. They are intended as
candid self-confessions, which a rare few celebrities of Bollywood have attempted. And hopefully, more such exercises will open quite a few windows on the heartbreak and grime behind the glamour. According to reports, Hrithik Roshan is set to self-author a book about himself. Shah Rukh Khan's narrative on his early years in showtown has been in the works for close to two decades now. In the meanwhile, smartly-designed coffee-table volumes on SRK have consistently proved to be bestsellers.
An analytical book on Aamir Khan, for which he refused any collaboration, still has its takers. A fan-type book on Salman Khan didn't make tidal waves, though.
Dilip Kumar's biography is a warm valentine conceived and written by former Screen editor Udaya Tara Nayar, in collaboration with Saira Banu. Shatrughan Sinha's story has been vividly penned by feisty journalist Bharathi Pradhan - evoking considerable public interest. A posthumous book on Shammi Kapoor by former Filmfare editor Rauf Ahmed chronicles the spirit of the late rebel star.
There are more which line the store shelves. According to publishers, Dev Anand's book had whipped up considerable interest because he actually confessed his ardour for singing star Suraiya and his failed bid to get her to assent to marriage.
To move to another point, research into a star's life is a daunting one. To source little-known information and rare photographs can be akin to an Indiana Jones-like expedition.
How - or why - do I say this? Currently, I'm in the process of wrapping up the autobiography of yesteryear's superhit girl Asha Parekh. Gratifyingly, I haven't been obstructed by a 'selective memory' - wherein the star recalls only the pleasant and goes amnesiac about the unpleasant passages of her decades-long journey.
Yet to get the right photos, newspaper and magazine cuttings and miscellaneous details (example: copies of the TV series Kora Kagaz, Palash Ke Phool and Baaje Payal, which Asha Parekh produced and directed) wasn't exactly a cakewalk either.
Which is why I'm amazed that despite such odds, the number of biographies and autobiographies are on an all-time high today. This can partly be explained by the fact that more movie lovers want to read about Bollywood today.
And as one news reporter at the recent Guwahati literary festival asked me, "Does your book on Asha Parekh have enough masala?"
I had no answer to that.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com


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