Sahir and Jaadu
Sahir and Jaadu

Author: Gulzar

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2013-11-18

Total Pages: 21

ISBN-13: 9351184722

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A fascinating short story from the inimitable Gulzar Gulzar is one of India’s most renowned poets and lyricists. This e-single sees him turning his hand to another creative form at which he is equally adept – short-form prose narrative. This story is taken from Gulzar’s new collection Half a Rupee: Stories, which comprises twenty-five gripping tales available in English for the very first time. From real-life stories about well-known personalities to tales set in Kashmir, in the hinterland, in the modern megalopolis and on the LoC, from anecdotes of love and betrayal to fables of courage and conviction, these are enthralling stories told in Gulzar’s unique style; each story will delight you.

Half a Rupee
Half a Rupee

Author: Gulzar

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2013-04-15

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 8184757611

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Twenty-five fascinating stories from the inimitable Gulzar A suicide bomber in a small town plans out her last day, getting herself photographed before she goes and blows up the prime minister. A drunkard in a Mumbai slum tries to compete with the torrential rain, even as it washes his dwelling away. An army man at the border has become so accustomed to speaking over the wireless that he now ends every sentence with ‘Over!’ And in the title story, a cop drags a dead cow from Vinayak Rao Patwardhan Road to the adjoining Bapu Road since the latter is so much easier to spell. From real-life stories about Javed Akhtar, Sahir Ludhianvi and Kuldip Nayyar to tales set in Kashmir, in the hinterland, in the modern megalopolis and on the LoC, from anecdotes of love and betrayal to fables of courage and conviction, this is an enthralling collection available in English for the very first time.

Tilism-e-Hoshruba
Tilism-e-Hoshruba

Author:

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2009-10-30

Total Pages: 1194

ISBN-13: 8184758243

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Tilism-e-Hoshruba is an epic narrative of the adventures of the legendary Persian hero Emir Hamza—the protagonist of Hamza Nama—his sons and grandsons. The epic opens with the commander-in-chief of the Islamic army, Hamza, pursuing Laqa, who makes false claims to divinity. Laqa takes refuge in Kohistan, adjacent to the enchanted land of Hoshruba, ruled by the formidable King of Sahirs, Afrasiyab Jadoo. Afrasiyab reveres Laqa and deputes his sahirs or wizards to help him fight Hamza. Hamza’s grandson Asad then sets out to conquer Hoshruba, assisted by the clever trickster Amar, who possesses divine artefacts such as a cloak of invisibility and a magic pouch containing parallel worlds. Aided by powerful allies and beset at every step by magical snares, dangerous enchantments and seductive sorceresses, the Islamic army finally conquers Hoshruba. Tilism-e-Hoshruba has enthralled generations of readers with its chivalrous heroes, breathtakingly beautiful princesses, powerful sahirs, sahiras and demons. This brilliant condensed translation by Shahnaz Aijazuddin sensitively reinterprets the highly Persianized Urdu of the original text into this eminently readable book that retains the essence of the original.

Written by Salim-Javed
Written by Salim-Javed

Author: Diptakirti Chaudhuri

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9352140087

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The dramatic, entertaining story of the dream team that pioneered the Bollywood blockbuster Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar reinvented the Bollywood formula with an extraordinary lineup of superhits, becoming game changers at a time when screenwriting was dismissed as a back-room job. From Zanjeer to Deewaar and Sholay to Shakti, their creative output changed the destinies of several actors and filmmakers and even made a cultural phenomenon of the Angry Young Man. Even after they decided to part ways, success continued to court them-a testament not only to their impeccable talent and professional ethos, but also their enterprising showmanship and business acumen. Fizzing with energy and brimming over with enough trivia to delight a cinephile's heart, Written by Salim-Javed tells the story of a dynamic partnership that transformed Hindi cinema forever.

Ten Years with Guru Dutt
Ten Years with Guru Dutt

Author: Sathya Saran

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780670082216

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Guru Dutt Is Probably The Only Indian Film-Maker Who, Within The Parameters Of The Box Office, Made A Personal Statement With His Cinema. His Films Stand Testimony Not Only To His Own Genius But Also To The Creativity Of His Team, Comprising Stalwarts Like Cameraman V.K. Murthy, Music Director S.D. Burman, And Writer Abrar Alvi, Among Others. In Ten Years With Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi&Rsquo;S Journey, Sathya Saran Looks At The Tumultuous Yet Incredibly Fecund Relationship Between The Mercurial Director And His Equally Talented Albeit Unsung Writer, A Partnership That Evolved Over A Decade Till Guru Dutt&Rsquo;S Tragic Death In 1964. Starting His Career As A Driver And Chaperone To Guru Dutt&Rsquo;S Producer On The Sets Of Baaz, Abrar Soon Caught The Attention Of The Director With His Sharp Ear For And Understanding Of Film Dialogue. With Aar Paar In 1954, Abrar Rewrote The Rules Of Dialogue Writing In Hindi Cinema, Till Then Marked By Theatricality And Artificiality. He Followed It Up With Mr And Mrs &Rsquo;55, Pyaasa And Kaagaz Ke Phool&Mdash;All Veritable Treatises On The Art Of Scriptwriting&Mdash;Before Donning The Director&Rsquo;S Mantle With Great Success In Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Full Of Anecdotes&Mdash;About How Abrar Honed His Skills By Writing Over 300 Love Letters; How An Accident Involving A Buffalo Led To The Discovery Of Waheeda Rehman; Guru Dutt&Rsquo;S Visit To A Kotha To Get The Ambience Right For Pyaasa&Mdash;Ten Years With Guru Dutt Is A Warm And Insightful Look At Two Remarkable Artistes Who Inspired Each Other To Create Movie Magic. It Is, At The Same Time, An Intimate Account Of The Ecstasy And The Agony That Marked The Making Of Some Of The Enduring Classics Of Indian Cinema.

Amrita-Imroz, a Love Story
Amrita-Imroz, a Love Story

Author: Uma Trilok

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9780143100447

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When I Wrapped Myself With Your Being Our Bodies Turned Inwards In Contemplation Our Limbs Intertwined Like Blossoms In A Garland Like An Offering At The Altar Of The Spirit Our Names, Slipping Out Of Our Lips, Became A Sacred Hymn . . . (From Adi Dharam By Amrita Pritam) Acclaimed As The Doyenne Of Punjabi Literature, Amrita Pritam Received Many Awards, Including India S Highest Literary Award, The Jnanpith, In 1981. Born In Gujranwala, Now In Pakistan, In 1919, She Came To India After The Partition Of The Subcontinent In 1947. Her Best-Known Work Is A Classic Poem, Addressed To The Great Eighteenth-Century Sufi Poet Waris Shah, In Which She Laments The Carnage Of Partition And Calls On Him To Give Voice From His Grave. Amrita Met Imroz, A Well-Known Artist, In The 1960S And They Became Lifelong Companions. They Stayed Together For More Than Forty Years, Till Her Death, After A Long Illness, In October 2005. Amrita Imroz: A Love Story Offers Living Glimpses Of The Sacred Hymn Of Amrita Pritam And Imroz S Life Together. Uma Trilok Had The Rare Opportunity To Witness Their Remarkable Love Story And The Passionate Bond That They Shared For So Many Years. In This Moving Tribute She Communicates Her Sense Of Deep Wonder At Their Unique And Unconventional Relationship, As Also Her Profound Admiration For The Creative Energy Of These Two Extraordinary Individuals.

The Begum and the Dastan
The Begum and the Dastan

Author: Tarana Husain Khan

Publisher: Hachette India

Published: 2023-02-20

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9393701644

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Lined with grandeur, tragedy and fantasy, Tarana Husain Khan's odyssey maps the social, political and religious contours of 1897 Sherpur with the fascinating and strong-willed Feroza Begum at the centre of the storm. On an evening not too many evenings ago, the blue-eyed Feroza, flouting her family's orders, attended Nawab Shams Ali Khan's sawani celebrations at the Benazir Palace. Tragedy coloured the night when she found herself kidnapped and withheld in the Nawab's harem - bustling, tantalizing and rife with sinister power play. As tyranny and repression tightened their hold inside the royal walls, at the Bazaar Chowk, dastangoi Kallan Mirza enchanted his listeners with the legend of sorcerer Tareek Jaan and his chimeric city, the Tilism-e-Azam, where women were confined in underground basements. Misfortune and subjugation link eras when Ameera, Feroza's great-granddaughter, is restricted to her house and finds solace in her Dadi's retelling of Feroza's tragedy. When Ameera's circumstances begin mirroring the strife and indignities pervasive in 1897 Sherpur, she must reflect if society has shifted enough for women and their choices. Written with careful flamboyance and striking evocativeness, The Begum and the Dastan is a world imbued with love, splendour and heartbreak, only saved by the women who refuse to play by the rule book.

The Hindi Music Jukebox
The Hindi Music Jukebox

Author: Manek Premchand

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2018-07-18

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1643247603

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This Indian film music book is a collection of eighty essays about the people who made remarkable music in Bollywood cinema, especially during the great era, and the ideas such people brought to the recording studios. When songs had to go without rhythms or when melodies had plenty of Q n A in them. In this music book, we flirt with Rock n Roll and scan songs that speed up at the end, we peep behind the screen to see what the idea was behind chorus songs in our films – even if there was no one to sing that chorus on the screen; it’s a huge list. These pages are a reflection of the time when everyone was fired up in their art, and when no one wanted to finish last in the race. It is about artists who every now and then dreamt ideas, and only after crystallizing things perfectly in their mind’s eye, went out to translate and transform their dreams into unforgettable melodies in Indian movies. Jukebox will interest the layman as well as the academician.