10 August 2010

King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema by Anupama Chopra

Glamour struck
I just read this 2007 book and enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s well written and engrossing, and along with a basic timeline of Shah Rukh Khan’s life, also gives a clear overview of many aspects of the Hindi film industry. I’d keep it for use as a reference book because it lists important events and puts them in perspective in an elegant and unpretentious way.
One complaint I have is that, for a book about the extremely emotional Shah Rukh Khan, it was too dry and intellectual.
However, for a few hours after I finished reading and put it down, I missed it the way you miss a work of fiction that has engrossed you, and hanker mildly to get back to the characters and their stories, until you finally leave them behind after immersing yourself in the next one.
Thinking about this, it struck me that it wasn’t the emotional pull of the book but rather the very strong glamour appeal of Shah Rukh Khan and the other stars it talks about that had got to me. So though I like to snootily believe that I’d never be bothered to exert myself to shake hands with the Queen or the Pope or anyone, Bollywood obviously has a massive influence even over a cynical and I-have-my-priorities-right-even-if-thou-doesn’t person like me.

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