A Bollywood State of Mind Book Review
• 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜 •
A Bollywood State of Mind by Sunny Singh documents five decades of modern Indian history and Bollywood Cinema. Sunny Singh, alike many other Indians, has been influenced by Bollywood Cinemas since Childhood. It not only shaped her ethics and morality to choose her friends and foes but also highly impacted her lifestyle. In this book she tries to record a blend of her personal life and the transformation of Bollywood cinema amid all the social changes.
The book begins when the narrator is just around eight years old in 1977. She describes the vital political events as well as their outcomes in Indian society before moving forward to talk about a few eminent filmmakers of Bollywood like Manmohan Desai, Nasir Hussain, Hrishikesh Mukherjee as well as Gulzar. She describes how Stardust and Binaca Geetmala was an important thing to the people. After describing few personal events on a canvas of social events, gradually, the narrator describes how she made her mind to do a PhD in Film Studies.
In each chapter, the author describes a remarkable events or experiences along with her own position in that time as a back drop to her historical analysis of Bollywood cinema. She not only provides her valuable insights on the movies and time but also records reception of the audience of that time. While reading, a reader is bound to teleport to that era to experience those magnificent events. The book captures evolution of Bollywood cinema. It shows how it sustains its own carisma over the years despite going through many socio-political changes. It transforms but never loses it glory. It endures but keeps its magical traits enough to mesmerized people. The spontaneity of the description and the easy writing style keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. The book feels like a memoir. The author's personal experiences make readers feel more connected. Overall, A Bollywood State of Mind takes you to a romantic journey through the vintage events of history in which one learns a lot about the film fanatics and their country, India.
