Bollywood: The Pocket Essential

Rating:
Summary: small paperback comments on several Bollywood films
Review: This is a small, ninety-page paperback from the British series Pocket Essentials. There is a slight three-page introduction to Bollywood that focuses on economic aspects of Bollwood film production. Then it's on to the films. The fifty films are broken into eleven chapters that group them chronologically and by genre. Each film receives a page or two of attention which includes the title, production date, producer, director, major cast, "ishtory" which is a description of the story, comment, highlights, "more like this," and a "Kiss-Kitsch Rating." I wish they would explain what this Kiss-Kitsch Rating means, but they don't. The ratings are usually 3/5, 4/5, or 5/5, so I think that is just a rating with a possible high of 5, though "Sholay" receives a 6/5. The rating does not seem to relate to a level of Kitsch for the film, which is disappointing since the Kitsch factor will appeal to many readers and would be nice to know. I wish the book had done more to explain why Bollywood films are the way that they are, and had sections on the major directors and performers rather than just on the films. But if you do read through all of the film descriptions you will learn about major aspects of the Bollywood oeuvre. Among the films described are: "Pyassa," "Sangam," "Awara," "Mother India," "Kanoon," "Jewel Thief," "Upkaar", "Padosan," "Johnny Mera Naam," "Mera Naam Joker," "Zanjeer," "Bobby," "Deewar," "Amar Akbar Anthony," "Trishul," "Arth," "Betaab," "Ankush," "Ghayal," "Roja," "Bandit Queen," "Rangeela," "Sarfarosh," "Mohabbatein," and "Lagaan." Yes, those are mostly the shorter titles. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the great "Gunmaan," made famous by the movie "Ghost World" and definitely the Kitschiest Bollywood movie I have seen (though "Amar Akbar Anthony" is pretty good). I suppose this book offers decent value for the price, but would be of more use to help you choose which Bollywood film to watch next than to actually inform you about Bollywood.