National award winning film journalist Anupama Chopra tells the fascinating story of how a four-line idea grew to become the greatest blockbuster of Indian cinema.

    So great was his stature as an Urdu poet that he never had to mould his poetry to suit the demands of film songwriting; instead, producers and composers adapted their requirements to his poetry. His songs in films like Pyaasa, Naya Daur and Phir Subah Hogi have attained the status of classics. This exhaustive biography traces the poet’s rich life, from his troubled childhood and his equally troubled love relationships, to his rise as one of the pre-eminent personalities of the Progressive Writers Movement and his journey as lyricist through the golden era of Hindi film music, the 1950s and 1960s.

    

    Like a shooting star doomed to darkness after a glorious run, Rajesh Khanna spent the better half of his career in the shadow of his own stardom. Yet, forty years after his last monstrous hit, Khanna continues to be the yardstick by which every single Bollywood star is measured. At a time when film stars were truly larger than life, Khanna was even more: the one for whom the term 'superstar' was coined. Born Jatin Khanna to middle-class parents, the actor was adopted by rich relatives who brought him up like a prince. By the time he won the Filmfare-United Producers Combine Talent Hunt, he was already famous for being the struggler who drove an imported sports car.With seventeen blockbuster hits in succession and mass adulation rarely seen before or since, the world was at Khanna's feet. Everything he touched turned to gold. The hysteria he generated - women writing him letters in blood, marrying his photograph and donning white when he married Dimple Kapadia, people bringing sick children for his 'healing' touch after Haathi Mere Saathi - was unparalleled. Then, in a matter of months, it all changed. Khanna's career hit a downward spiral as spectacular as his meteoric rise just three years after Aradhana (1969) and never really recovered. Dark Star looks at the phenomenon of an actor who redefined the 'film star'. Gautam Chintamani's engaging narrative tries to make sense of what it was that made Rajesh Khanna and what accounted for his extraordinary fall. A singular account of a wondrous life.

    Growing up in Bangalore and then Madras, in a household that resolutely kept out any hint of her father's superstardom, she was a quiet, introverted child whose greatest pleasure was a visit to Marina Beach and an occasional meal out. It was not cinema but law that became a preoccupation when she started thinking about college and career - but fate, and her mother, had other plans for her.Aishwaryaa writes with disarming honesty about life as Rajinikanth's daughter, of falling in love and raising two boys with Dhanush, of fighting her own demons and finding satisfaction in a career of her choice. She reflects on the many roles a woman has to juggle at home and outside - in her case, under the watchful gaze of cameras and celebrity-watchers.Intensely personal, but also inspirational, Aishwaryaa's memoir is an unusually frank insight into growing up in cinema-land. A playful meditation on the joys and difficulties of being a woman in this age, Standing on an Apple Box is as much a celebration of individual fulfilment as it is of family.

    RD revolutionized Hindi film music in the 1970s, and with his emphasis on rhythm and beats, this Pied Piper of Hindi film music had young India swinging to his tunes. At the same time, this genius proved his many detractors who criticized him for corrupting popular taste wrong by composing some of the most influential raga-based songs in Hindi cinema and showing an immense comfort with all kinds of music, including Indian folk. RD: The Man, The Music looks at the phenomenon called R.D. Burman and how he changed the way Indians perceived Hindi film music. Through anecdotes and trivia that went into the making of Pancham’s music – the many innovations he introduced, like mixed rhythm patterns, piquant chords and sound mixing – and through interactions with the musicians who were part of RD’s team, the authors create a fascinating portrait of a man who, through his music, continues to thrive, even fifteen years after his death.

    250-258) and index.

    'Our Films' is devoted mainly to his own experiences and contains many interesting anecdotes, but also has observations to offer on trends in Indian films. 'Their Films' deals with some films from abroad that have become landmarks in the history of the cinema from the silent era to the present day.

    Shortly after he walked off the field for the last time, the Government of India bestowed the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, on him. Sachin Tendulkar: The Man Cricket Loved Back is an ESPNcricinfo anthology of fine writing on India’s greatest cricketer. This collection brings together affectionate and perceptive appreciations from teammates and rivals who saw Tendulkar up close—among them, V.V.S. Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, John Wright, Allan Donald, Greg Chappell, Sanjay Manjrekar and Aakash Chopra—and contributions from the who’s who of cricket writing, including Gideon Haigh, Mike Marqusee, Ayaz Memon, Ed Smith, Mark Nicholas, Rohit Brijnath, Sharda Ugra and Mukul Kesavan. It also features several interviews conducted with Sachin over the years, and superb pictures of him on and off the field, making for a comprehensive portrait of the cricketer and the man through the eyes of those who have watched and studied him from the closest quarters. About The AuthorESPN cricinfo has been the No. 1 cricket website in the world since it first went online in 1993. With a monthly average of over 20 million readers worldwide, it is also among the largest single-sport websites in the world. The site pioneered live ball-by-ball updates and it continues to be the leader in the field. This is backed up by text- and video-based match analysis content, providing a comprehensive coverage menu. The site runs its own global news operation, and its news and match coverage are supplemented by videos, opinion pieces, features, interviews and blogs. ESPNcricinfo’s previous book titles are: Sealed with a Six: The Story of the 2011 World Cup; Timeless Steel, an anthology on Rahul Dravid; and Talking Cricket, a collection of interviews with legends of the game.

    A few years later, he transformed Valiant into the third-largest superhero entertainment company in the world after Marvel and DC Comics and sold it for $100 million.Jason then became a professional turnaround leader and went on to transform distressed. Indian Internet icons Housing.com, FreeCharge and Snapdeal, helping save billions of dollars in value, and advise giants like technology investor Softbank and real estate developer Emaar, who have invested billions of dollars in India. Irrationally Passionate reveals the inside story of how a rebel, train-wreck kid transformed himself into a successful young entrepreneur and business leader who became one of the top ten paid executives in India while only in his 30s.From getting his first job as an assistant to Jackie Chan in Hong Kong, to learningstrategy from champion Muay Thai fighters in Thailand, to tackling huge personal setbacks, to becoming a CEO in 60 seconds, among many other stories— Jason’s inspiring journey across countries, industries and companies has something for everyone, right from students to entrepreneurs to corporate CEOs to even parents of students and entrepreneurs.Irrationally Passionate is a highly personal, authentic, open and complete account of a young entrepreneur’s life. Brimming with practical advice and philosophical insights, it will force readers to reflect on how they perceive life, work, family and spirituality by giving them a fresh perspective.ABOUT THE AUTHORJason Kothari is a passionate entrepreneur and business turnaround leader. While still in college, he acquired the bankrupt US-based Valiant Entertainment and led its transformation as the CEO to the third-largest superhero entertainment company after Marvel and DC and a sale for $100 million, a record industry return.Subsequently, Jason was the CEO of Housing.com, where he led the transformation of the distressed company and a merger with News Corp’s PropTiger to create the $350 million industry leader.Following this, he was the Chief Strategy & Investment Officer of Snapdeal, where he played a lead role in transforming the distressed company from a monthly loss of over $20 million to a profit, the first for an Indian e-commerce company. Jason was also the CEO of FreeCharge, where he led the sale of the company to Axis Bank for $60 million.In addition, he has been a senior advisor to Softbank; Noon.com, a Middle Eastern e-commerce company that has raised $1 billion; and is a Board Director of Emaar India, which has over $2 billion in real estate assets. Jason holds a B.S.from The Wharton School and lives in Mumbai.He is also Executive Producer of the upcoming blockbuster movie Bloodshot (Sony Pictures) starring Vin Diesel releasing worldwide on March 13, 2020.

    What does it mean to be a middle-class Muslim kid in India today? Talking to over a hundred children and their parents across twelve cities, Nazia Erum uncovers stories of religious segregation in classrooms and rampant bullying of Muslim children in many of the country’s top schools.

    The heartbreaking story of Kashmir has so far been told through the prism of the brutality of the Indian state, and the pro-independence demands of separatists. But there is another part of the story that has remained unrecorded and buried. Our Moon Has Blood Clots is the unspoken chapter in the story of Kashmir, in which it was purged of the Kashmiri Pandit community in a violent ethnic cleansing backed by Islamist militants. Hundreds of people were tortured and killed, and about 3,50,000 Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their homes and spend the rest of their lives in exile in their own country. Rahul Pandita has written a deeply personal, powerful and unforgettable story of history, home and loss.

    A hefty compilation of essays (both pictorial and prose), notes, concept sketches and interviews by (and with) Hayao Miyazaki. Arguably the most respected animation director in the world, Miyazaki is the genius behind "Howl's Moving Castle," Princess Mononoke" and the Academy Award-winning film, "Spirited Away."

    He also made comedies, musical fantasies, detective films, and documentaries. He was an exceptionally versatile artist who won almost every major prize in cinema, including a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1992. This is the best-known biography of the film giant, based on extensive interviews with Ray himself, his actors, collaborators, and a deep knowledge of Bengali culture. This second edition contains extensive new material covering Ray's final three films made in 1989-1991, a discussion of his artistic legacy, and the most comprehensive bibliography of Ray's own writings.

    As time passed, railways were built and newspapers appeared, isolated villages like vilakkudi were exposed to social and cultural change. It is this transition that the author, Ranganathans great -great-great grandson, tries to trace through the story of his family.