Photo Photo
Search Advanced SearchView Cart   Checkout   
 Location:  Home » Magazines » Entertainers » King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema  
Home
Blog

King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema

King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema

zoom enlarge 
Author: Anupama Chopra
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Category: Book

List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $11.00
You Save: $13.99 (56%)



New (29) Used (12) Collectible (1) from $5.50

Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars 8 reviews
Sales Rank: 92055

Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1

ISBN: 0446578584
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.43028092
EAN: 9780446578585
ASIN: 0446578584

Publication Date: August 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: new remainder mark

Similar Items:

  • Shahrukh Khan - Still Reading Khan
  • The Essential Guide to Bollywood
  • Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ("The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride")
  • The Inner Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan
  • Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief: Inside the World of Indian Moviemaking

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Here is the astonishing true story of Bollywood, a sweeping portrait about a country finding its identity, a movie industry that changed the face of India, and one man's struggle to become a star. Shah Rukh Khan's larger than life tale takes us through the colorful and idiosyncratic Bollywood movie industry, where fantastic dreams and outrageous obsessions share the spotlight with extortion, murder, and corruption. Shah Rukh Khan broke into this $1.5 billion business despite the fact that it has always been controlled by a handful of legendary film families and sometimes funded by black market money. As a Muslim in a Hindu majority nation, exulting in classic Indian cultural values, Shah Rukh Khan has come to embody the aspirations and contradictions of a complicated culture tumbling headlong into American style capitalism. His story is the mirror to view the greater Indian story and the underbelly of the culture of Bollywood.


"A bounty for cinema lovers everywhere."
--Mira Nair, Director, The Namesake and Monsoon Wedding



"King of Bollywood is the all-singing, all-dancing back stage pass to Bollywood. Anupama Chopra chronicles the political and cultural story of India with finesse and insight, through fly-on-wall access to one of its biggest, most charming and charismatic stars."
-- Gurinder Chadha, director of Bend it Like Beckham

"The "Easy Rider Raging Bull" of the Bollywood industry and essential reading for any Shah Rukh Khan fan."
--Emma Thompson, actress

"Anu Chopra infuses the pivotal moments of Shah Rukh Khan's life with an edge-of-your-seat tension worthy of the best Bollywood blockbusters."
--Kirkus






Customer Reviews:   Read 3 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Great book!   July 11, 2008
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is a great read for people interested in Bollywood. It not only tells the tale of one of the most popular actors in the film industry, ShahRukh Khan, but it also puts his history in the context of Bollywood's history. It is a great combination of in-depth information and socio-cultural analysis of Bollywood and ShahRukh Khan's life. It is extremely well written-interesting, poignant, and funny. For those who already know a lot about Bollywood or for those who are completely new to it, this is a great book for both kinds of people. I loved it and I highly recommend it. :)


5 out of 5 stars Very Good Introduction to Bollywood Cinema and One of Its Leading Actors   June 17, 2008
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

If you are starting to get interested in Bollywood cinema and/or Shah Rukh Khan then this book will not dissapoint you.


5 out of 5 stars A fantastic read for Bollywood lovers   January 4, 2008
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

I fell in love with the Bollywood cinema in August 2005. After watching hundreds of movies I felt a hunger to know more, to understand what makes it tick, what lies behind the colour, drama, music and obsession with Indian movie stars. I was looking forward to "King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema"-it sounded most promising. When I got hold of the book (thanks to Amazon)I couldn't put it down. I devoured every page, every bit of information-loved everything about it. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in Indian Cinema, you will find it to be a fascinating insight into what makes the industry so alluring and powerful.


5 out of 5 stars Almost all you want to know on Shahrukh Khan   December 17, 2007
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Bollywoodmania is an addiction. For Westners that will discover and appreciate it in the next years (and be sure they will!) it is the disclosure of a fairytale world of moviemaking that was there all the time but that we simply didn't know. Well, when this will happen the first and probably most important gateway will be the actor and the movies interpreted by Shahrukh Khan. And after having seen some of these, no one will be able to resist curiosity on this great actor.

Anuparma Chopra is a member of the Chopra family that makes up the establisment of Bollywood and is also an estimated journalist. From her priviledged point of view she has written this biography of the still young King Khan integrating his personality with the history of Bollywood cinema in the last 20-30 years. Naturally, the biography is authorized and as such may not contain episodes that are not consistent with the image modern Bollywood and Shahrukh Khan want to convey. All the less, there is a sincerity that transpires throughout the book and allows the reader to connect with the actor and his environment.

The first part on the youth of the actor is full of episodes and sometimes takes on a mythical aspect, but that is a common feature of all biographies. The chapters on the later years are a little sketchy and skip many well known facts. But we must not forget that this book has and will have a different impact on Indians or the Indian-culture public and "Westner's". The Author wanted to write about something new or at least not well known to her main public, that practically reads at least two or three articles a day on Shahrukh Khan. Reading the Indian reviews of the book that criticize the small amount of new information this aspect is very evident.

The book's point of force is the analysis of the reasons for Shahrukh Khan's success, that trascend the actor's talent and are deeply rooted in the transformation of Indian society and how modern Indians envision themselves in these years. An important weight is correctly given to the directors (Chopra and Johar) that have created Shahrukh's winning image and cinema personality, while some movies and directors he also worked with are only mentioned.

The bibliography is quite extensive for a short biography such as this and cites many interesting books on Bollywood cinema. A filmography of the actor is missing and I would have appreciated a brief comment on his less well known movies.

I suggest to read this book even if you are not a Shahrukh fan just to be updated on modern entertainment and on the reasons and pulsions that contribute to create our "collective imagination".



4 out of 5 stars King of Bollywood Rocks!   December 2, 2007
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

Title: King of Bollywood
Author: Anupama Chopra
ISBN: 978-0-446-57858-5
Publisher: Warner Books
Review By: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Magazine

Packed with scrumptious lesser known facts of one of, if not the top Bollywood actor of modern day, Shah Rukh Khan, King of Bollywood is a fun book to read and fun book to share. Being one of the most talked about personalities in the world today, SRK is a legend already but King of Bollywood feeds the hunger of his fans globally on what is the man like behind the mask of superstar.

Although it shies away from some of the less flattering aspects of the actor's life and lifestyle, it does deliver some notions of challenges faced, failures along the way and allows readers to travel from his days as a penniless boy traveling to Bombay on a whim to the grand master of marketing and box office smashes. His story is so extraordinary and almost bigger than life, but Anupama Chopra tells the story in a way that allows fans to follow along and relate their own personal struggles to those of the actor's. Expertly written, King of Bollywood puts SRK's life into chronological order while recalling old memories into current day stories for insight into his physiological make up. Chopra really works on getting the actor's words into the book and calls on friends and family to help build the story from outside his prospective.

There is no doubt that Shah Rukh Khan is a master at the game of Bollywood and the art of persistence. King of Bollywood tells the tale of a boy, turned into a husband, who becomes the actor he always dreamed of being and then remaining the man he always was at heart. This wonderfully written book will provide entertainment to Bollywood lovers around the world and for ages to come.


Disclaimer: This is an Amazon storefront - the products referenced on this site are manufactured and sold by other parties and sold through Amazon.com We make no representations regarding either the products or any information vendors offer about their products. Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be directed to the appropriate manufacturer or vendor, or to Amazon.com.