Encyclopaedia
of Hindi Cinema/edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani and Saibal Chatterjee.
New Delhi, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2003, xx, 659 p., colour and black &
white photographs,
ISBN 81-7991-066-0.
Encyclopaedia
of Hindi Cinema/edited by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani and Saibal Chatterjee.
New Delhi, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2003, xx, 659 p., colour and black &
white photographs,
ISBN 81-7991-066-0.
Contents: Foreword/Aalok Wadhwa. Preface/Gulzar, Govind Nihalani and Saibal Chatterjee. I. Historical record: 1. Overview: Hindi cinema through the decades/Saibal Chatterjee. Bollywood/Govind Nihalani. 2. 1896-1930: the silent years/Firoze Rangoonwalla. 3. 1931-1946: the emergence of talkies/Firoze Rangoonwalla. 4. 1947-1961: the golden age/Amita Malik. 5. 1962-1975: wars and emergency/Ratnottama Sengupta. 6. 1976-1989: rebels without a cause/Maithili Rao. 7. 1990-2001: designer cinema/Saibal Chatterjee. II. The business and its future: 8. Business: the business of Hindi films/Amit Khanna. 9. Business: the future of Hindi film business/Amit Khanna. III. Narrative forms: 10. Editing: from the editor’s table/Indu Ramchandani. 11. Sound: sound design/Shoma A. Chatterji. 12. Special effects: creating the magic/K.S. Ramesh. Special effects on the matte/Suresh Naik. Special effects in the digital world/Ramesh Meer. 13. Song and dance: song picturization and choreography/Lata Khubchandani. 14. Stunts and action: spectacular skill and daring/Veeru Devgan. Action and stunts/Allan Amin. 15. Flashback: looking back/Gulzar. 16. Art direction: sets, reality, and grandeur/Sharmishta Roy. 17. Costumes: the essence and fabric/Salim Arif. 18. Cinematography: through the viewfinder/Govind Nihalani. IV. Analysis of the medium: 19. Genres: genres and narrative forms/Saibal Chatterjee. 20. Music: in tune with the times/Gulzar. 21. Lyrics 1903-1960: a song travels/Gulzar. 22. Lyrics 1960-2001: golden lyrics of the modern era/Amir Ullah Khan. 23. Scripts: scripts of substance/Saibal Chatterjee. 24. Scripts: the unimportance of scriptwriting/Anjum Rajabali. 25. Scripts: writing screenplays for Indian cinema/Vijay Tendulkar. 26. Scripts: the influence of literature/Arun Kaul. 27. Comedy: laughter and comic relief/Saibal Chatterjee. 28. Heroes and villains: good versus evil/Anil Zankar. 29. Sociology: commercial cinema and sociology/Susmita Dasgupta. 30. Women: source of strength or stereotype?/Indu Ramchandani. 31. Heroine: sex symbol or woman of substance?/Bhawana Somaaya. 32. Stereotypes: stereotypes and clichés/Amir Ullah Khan and Saibal Chatterjee. 33. Censorship: cuts, snips, and bans/Bhaskar Ghose. 34. Remakes: the influence of other cinemas/Saibal Chatterjee. Adaptation from Western films/Akash Khurana. V. Milestones: 1. Dev Anand. 2. Ashok Kumar. 3. Amitabh Bachchan. 4. Jaya Bachchan. 5. Begum Para. 6. Asha Bhosle. 7. Anil Biswas. 8. Dilip Kumar. 9. Helen. 10. Johnny Walker. 11. The Kapoor dynasty. 12. Lata Mangeshkar. 13. Mehmood. 14. Babubhai Mistri. 15. Hrishikesh Mukherjee. 16. V.K. Murthy. 17. Naushad. 18. Gopaldas Neeraj. 19. Pran. 20. Waheeda Rehman. 21. Shamshad Begum. Biographies. Film index. General index.
"This is not "yet another book on Hindi cinema". This book presents the dynamics of the Hindi film industry with a detailed and analytical point of view. From the turn of the last century when this industry took its first unsteady steps of infancy, to becoming a leader in the world of celluloid, Encyclopaedia Britannica is presenting a perspective.
"The book is divided into six sections:
"Section 1: historical record: an objective study of the growth and development of the industry over the decades. The medium of cinema changed its nuances and perceptions as the nation transited through British rule, freedom struggle, the impact of the world wars, independence, post-independence Utopia, nationalist fervour, and struggles and frustrations, and experienced and growing pains of the nation.
"Section 2: the business and its future: the oil that turns the wheels of this industry. Without a study of the economics there can be no objective perspective.
"Section 3: narrative forms: various articles that present the various forms that are the vital sections of a film project such as: cinematography, sound, special effects, choreography and song picturization, stunts and action, flashback, art direction, and costumes.
"Section 4: analysis of the medium: here the genres are analysed further. Music, lyrics, scripts and screenplays, comedy, stereotypes, good versus evil, women, censorship, the influence of literature, and the influence of other cinemas.
"Section 5: milestones: interviews with, the profiles of, twenty-one legendary personalities who have influenced the dynamics of the industry.
"Section 6: biographies: informative snapshots of leading personalities with select filmographies." (jacket)