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Choosing the best 200 Hindi movies since the 1940s, this book gives concise reviews of the films. The entries are arranged genre wise.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a white girl who grow up without the life-long exposure to Hindi cinema that many asians have, but who is nonetheless a massive Bollywood fan, I put this on my Christmas list a couple of years back, hoping it would fill in the gaps in my knowledge. It's done that and more, acting as a useful and fascinating guide to many of the key films in the genre, to which I refer again and again.
The volume begins with a short Foreword by 'Big B', Amitabh Bachchan, who says, quite rightly that "[Subhash K. Jha] has captured the entire relevant history of films and everything connected to it 'under one roof'."
The author, Jha, is a journalist and critic, whose insider knowledge is shared throughout the book. He has chosen 200 of the best Hindi films made between the 1940s to the book's publication in 2005. The guide is organised into 9 film genres, such as 'Drama', 'Comedy', 'War Drama' and 'Romance', with a chapter even dedicated to 'Parallel Cinema'. Some of these sub-genres overlap quite a bit, and it's not always easy to guess where a certain film might be listed ('Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', for example, is in the Drama section, when it could easily have been located in Family Drama, or Romance instead.) However, the index is exhaustive, so if you're looking for a particular film, it is easy enough to locate it. There is comprehensive cross-referencing through the guide.
Within each of these chapters, the films are arranged in chronological order. For each film featured in the guide, a comprehensive listing of the title, year, cast, director, composer and lyricist is provided. This is followed by a fascinating and informative text giving facts, trivia and insight about the film, and accompanied by photographs from it. At the same time, running along the bottom of every page is a timeline of 'Films and landmark events', which is great for contextualising the movies. The final chapters constitutes a list, for each decade, of the top ten hits, and top ten flops, as well as the top heroes and heroines for that period. My only quibble is that, as is inevitable with a book such as this, it is out-of-date almost as soon as it is published ('Black', from 2005, is the most recent film listed). One can only hope that new editions of the guide are brought out regularly.
The Essential Guide to Bollywood is just that: essential reading and an easily accessible reference guide to the key films of Bollywood. I would recommend it to Bollywood beginners, as well as to old-hands, who will find the trivia and anecdotes with which is filled, eye-opening. For anyone, it's an invaluable source of information on the major output of Mumbai's movie industry.
The volume begins with a short Foreword by 'Big B', Amitabh Bachchan, who says, quite rightly that "[Subhash K. Jha] has captured the entire relevant history of films and everything connected to it 'under one roof'."
The author, Jha, is a journalist and critic, whose insider knowledge is shared throughout the book. He has chosen 200 of the best Hindi films made between the 1940s to the book's publication in 2005. The guide is organised into 9 film genres, such as 'Drama', 'Comedy', 'War Drama' and 'Romance', with a chapter even dedicated to 'Parallel Cinema'. Some of these sub-genres overlap quite a bit, and it's not always easy to guess where a certain film might be listed ('Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', for example, is in the Drama section, when it could easily have been located in Family Drama, or Romance instead.) However, the index is exhaustive, so if you're looking for a particular film, it is easy enough to locate it. There is comprehensive cross-referencing through the guide.
Within each of these chapters, the films are arranged in chronological order. For each film featured in the guide, a comprehensive listing of the title, year, cast, director, composer and lyricist is provided. This is followed by a fascinating and informative text giving facts, trivia and insight about the film, and accompanied by photographs from it. At the same time, running along the bottom of every page is a timeline of 'Films and landmark events', which is great for contextualising the movies. The final chapters constitutes a list, for each decade, of the top ten hits, and top ten flops, as well as the top heroes and heroines for that period. My only quibble is that, as is inevitable with a book such as this, it is out-of-date almost as soon as it is published ('Black', from 2005, is the most recent film listed). One can only hope that new editions of the guide are brought out regularly.
The Essential Guide to Bollywood is just that: essential reading and an easily accessible reference guide to the key films of Bollywood. I would recommend it to Bollywood beginners, as well as to old-hands, who will find the trivia and anecdotes with which is filled, eye-opening. For anyone, it's an invaluable source of information on the major output of Mumbai's movie industry.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Brief Topical Guide to Hindi Cinema, Hardly Essential
5 Sep 2007
Format:Paperback
If looking for an abbreviated introduction to Hindi cinema, this thin (172-page) movie guide may be a place to begin. Movies from about 1950-2005 are represented, not alphabetically or by number of awards, but by subject genre.
Many Hindi movies are considered to have plots of masala (spice), where drama, romance, & comedy are intermingled in a three-hour long plot, so the book's categorization of Hindi films by genre seems arbitrary. The book index works as a more focused finding aid to locate entries on movies and individuals.
The author's language in the brief movie descriptions tends toward hyperbole, but the listed information for each movie on major actors, director, music composers, lyricist, and plot line are a helpful introduction to Hindi movies. There are color photographs of movie posters & stars on nearly every page of this guide, so it can be fun to flip through for topical browsing. However, as there are more comprehensive, academic guides to Hindi cinema in print this guide is hardly essential reading.
Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema (Routledge Film Guidebooks) by Tejaswini Ganti, published in 2004, contains a more in-depth treatment.
Many Hindi movies are considered to have plots of masala (spice), where drama, romance, & comedy are intermingled in a three-hour long plot, so the book's categorization of Hindi films by genre seems arbitrary. The book index works as a more focused finding aid to locate entries on movies and individuals.
The author's language in the brief movie descriptions tends toward hyperbole, but the listed information for each movie on major actors, director, music composers, lyricist, and plot line are a helpful introduction to Hindi movies. There are color photographs of movie posters & stars on nearly every page of this guide, so it can be fun to flip through for topical browsing. However, as there are more comprehensive, academic guides to Hindi cinema in print this guide is hardly essential reading.
Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema (Routledge Film Guidebooks) by Tejaswini Ganti, published in 2004, contains a more in-depth treatment.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
The Bollywood Phenomenon!
13 Feb 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
`The Essential Guide To Bollywood' by Subhash K. Jha is a beautifully done compendium of what the author considers to be the 200 best Hindi films from the `40's to the present. It is a nicely produced book printed on thick, high quality paper and filled with wonderful photos of all your favorite Hindi stars. The films discussed in this 176 page paperback volume are divided into ten chapters along with a two page forward by Amitabh Bachchan and index.
Contents;
- Drama
- Comedy
- War Drama
- Family Drama
- Thrillers & Mysteries
- Romance
- Historical
- Action
- Parallel Cinema
- Hits & Misses
This book is not meant to serve as an in-depth study, no film included in the book gets more than one page of description and discussion. Actually most of the pages are divided in half in a two column format, one film per column. It is a fast read, but you'll come back to it again and again to enjoy the pictures and reread the short excerpts in nostalgic bliss. Whether you're an expert in Bollywood cinema or new to the Hindi experience you'll love it!
Contents;
- Drama
- Comedy
- War Drama
- Family Drama
- Thrillers & Mysteries
- Romance
- Historical
- Action
- Parallel Cinema
- Hits & Misses
This book is not meant to serve as an in-depth study, no film included in the book gets more than one page of description and discussion. Actually most of the pages are divided in half in a two column format, one film per column. It is a fast read, but you'll come back to it again and again to enjoy the pictures and reread the short excerpts in nostalgic bliss. Whether you're an expert in Bollywood cinema or new to the Hindi experience you'll love it!
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
The Essential Guide to Bollywood
3 Aug 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is definitely a must for all those who want the scoop on Bollywood! Well-written and informative. I wish I had bought it sooner. As a Bollywood writer, this is a reference book, which will be close by my writing desk.
I give it 5 stars!
I give it 5 stars!
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