Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga

From the Jacket:

Bollywood, the Hindi film industry started with one film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913. By the end of the century, however, it had grown into a creative and financial behemoth with the intervening decades witnessing technological innovations that were to change the face of the film industry. Today, Bollywood produces more than 100 films a year and entertains billions of people around the globe.

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga documents this incredible story of Hindi films. The book takes the reader on a chronologically-charted odyssey thought each epoch of this historic and dramatic journey, examining and analyzing the benchmarks of the vibrant changes that marked each passing era-the early silent years, the excitement at the introduction of sound, the gradual seeping in of colour into film images, the fashioning of eternal classics, right up to the post millennial 'glitzkrieg' of mega-budget ventures balanced on the cusp of art and commerce.

Few stories are as rich or as fascinating. The Bollywood Saga recaptures the romance of the past and the pragmatism of the present for all those who love Hindi films.

About the Author:

Dinesh Raheja, who regularly saw two films a week as a child, continues to do so after 22 years in film journalism. Editor of a popular magazine, MOVIE for 11 years (1988-1999), Raheja later became the Channel Editor for India Today's online film section.

Currently, he is a columnist for Mid-day and freelances for Indian Express and rediff.com. A scriptwriter for television (Just Mohabbat, Film India), Raheja is also the co-author of The Hundred Luminaries of Hindi Cinema.

Jitendra Kothari, a film history aficionado, discusses decades-old stars and films with the fervour of a man who has been part of the era-even though he is just 30-something.

Kothari was the Deputy Editor of MOVIE. He has also co-scripted the BBC TV show, Film India and done a two-year stint with the film section of India Today online. Along with Dinesh Raheja, Kothari was the co-author of The Hundred Luminaries of Hindi Cinema.

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