Saturday, August 23, 2014

Shahnama

An early shout-out for this book, which will be in stores around the middle of next month – Naseeruddin Shah’s life and art in his own words, from 1950 (or 1949 - he is unsure which year he was born in) till 1982:


It's a sharp, entertaining, often crabby memoir as you might expect. I have just finished writing a long review of it, but can’t share it here because Penguin has an “embargo” on reviews and excerpts for now. Will post it after a couple of weeks.

7 comments:

  1. no links on Flipkart for preordering.

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  2. So looking forward to reading it. Both the book and your review! :)

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  3. Not sure why, but feel like the title's a translation from Hindi. Can't wait to read the book and your review!

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  4. Super duper excited about the book. Thanks Jai for letting us know. I just noticed the cover of the book shows a dark movie hall. Given Naseer's dislike for Bollywood and his love for stage, wasn't it better to show a stage? (P.S. - I have never seen a play, so it may just be plain ignorance on my part)

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    1. He may dislike Bollywood and have very narrow views on popular cinema generally, but he has always made it clear that he was a film buff first and foremost, from his earliest years, and a theatre person only after that (he also said this in that long interview I did with him a few years ago).

      But in any case, what they show on the cover could just as easily be the audience's seats at a theatre performance - it isn't clear that it's a movie hall.

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    2. LOL. There is humour in your statement, "he may have very narrow views on popular cinema generally" :)

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