Book Review – Brave New Bollywood : Bollywood News

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is set for release, but you get to hear Dibakar Banerji talk about Shanghai.

Dil Dhadakne Do is making the right buzz, but Zoya Akhtar is getting into a nostalgic trip about Luck By Chance.

Book Review – Brave New Bollywood

Bhoole Sa Naam Na Lo Pyaar Ke is the name of Tigmanshu Dhulia's next release, but all one gets to know more about is Haasil.

Reema Kagti has long moved on from even Talaash, but she is being quizzed on Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.

Kiran Rao has gone ahead and even presented Ship Of Theseus, but a reader is taken back into the time when she was an assistant director in Lagaan.

Ditto is the story for other directors like Onir, Shonali Bose and Anusha Rizvi. And no, it is not that they wish to re-live the past. Instead, the problem lies with the book which is ironically titled 'Brave New Bollywood'. Reason being that there is nothing either 'brave' or 'new' and certainly not 'Bollywood' about this book which is basically a series of old interviews compiled and presented in a 275 odd page affair. Authors Nirmal Kumar and Preeti Chaturvedi must have interviewed the aforementioned eight filmmakers, when they had just put their first foot forward in the industry but guess the end result took its own sweet time to reach the stands.

No wonder, there is no mention whatsoever of any of the new work that these directors are doing. Instead, all one gets to read are (largely) boring interviews of most of these film personalities. Now, that's sad, considering the fact that normally most of them are quite vocal and expressive in their interviews and conversations. However, except for some genuine sense of humor demonstrated by Kiran, some angst well displayed by Onir, an emotional tale narrated by Shonali, a few revelations been made by Reema and bit of disappointment thrown in by Anusha, one hardly finds much to munch on 'Brave New Bollywood'.

Moreover, even in the interviews, it is pretty much conveyed by the directors themselves that there is nothing quintessentially Bollywood in their way of thinking as well as execution. Hence, it is all the more surprising to see the word Bollywood making it to the book's title. Well, even that would have been agreeable, if explained well, but, nothing really explains why one would go for a rather expensive book like this, only to go back and read what the filmmakers may have possibly said many years ago.

Price: Rs. 895

Rating: **