Book Review – Satyagraha – The Story Behind The Revolution

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

October 2, 2013 - 7:05 AM IST

The trend is indeed catching up. Last time when a release of a book comprising of the entire script coincided with theatrical arrival of the film, it was 7 Khoon Maaf. Circa 2013 and Satyagraha follows suit, and in style. Other than the script, which forms the core of the book, there is ton load of information added around the making of the film, something that catches one's eye due to the sheer structure it has been put together. How? Well, the entire reading material spread over 100 odd pages in this hard cover book is akin to going through social networking sites, courtesy the Facebook/Twitter mode of communication.

So what one gets to see is Prakash Jha posting a status update about thoughts for his new film, writer Anjum Rajabali 'commenting' and joining his endeavour, Amitabh Bachchan 'liking' what is being said and the other cast and crew member sharing these updates as well. It isn't as if this mode of communication just leaves it all at setting up the preamble. Instead, the entire narrative of this Pooja Varma 'compiled and edited' book follows the same format, hence making one supremely interested in knowing more about the film.

Whether it is the genesis of the film, thoughts of the writer and the director about the tale which has to be told, the production that ensues, the challenges that are faced, the reactions that come in from the 'aam junta', the pictures which are tagged, the confrontations that take place, the disagreements that become public, the sinister views that are shared and the minute by minute reactions that come in belong to the kind of communication that has an instant connect with the social networking savvy audience base.

This also means that the proceedings never get monotonous and there is a huge visual appeal that comes in as well which makes the reading of 'Satyagraha - The Story Behind the Revolution' an exercise well taken. On the flip side it also means that for those used to going through the usual written material where information that comes to you is much more straight forward, this effort by the author could be a tad futile due to a disconnect factor.

Meanwhile there are quite a few anecdotes shared not just across the 'making' but even the script, hence ensuring that even in a relative dry subject like this, there is some level of entertainment quotient that is thrown in. Never once though the talks turn frivolous as the focus on telling the tale as is stays intact. This is the case right through the script as well which is provided in Hindi as well as English for readers to enjoy. Of course this is more for those who like to collect film scripts for study and learning purpose and in that context, 'Satyagraha - The Story Behind The Revolution' does prove to be handy enough.

Price: Rs. 995/=

Rating: ***