Review: Meena Kumari

Meena Kumari by Vinod Mehta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a biography written by Vinod Mehta in 1972. I was always intrigued by Meena Kumari, the yesteryear actress, when I saw her act in "Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam". It was one of her best known films directed by Guru Dutt along with "Pakeezah". The book is divided into two parts. The first part is about her life which is more or less half the length of the book, and the other part is about how the author came to write the book. The book takes us through the life of the actress from the time she was a child till her death. There are some insights into her private life like her equation with Kamal Amrohi, her husband, her close relatives who live with her and actor Dharmendra. I was shocked to read that she died penniless with not even Rs 3,500/- to spare to pay her hospital fees, despite acting in over seventy films in her short career.

Vinod Mehta, was an eminent journalist ( my link text) till he died in 2015. This was his second book as an author. The author is a self-confessed fan of the actress and his views seem to be a bit biased . Also the author dwells more on the actress' relationship with her husband and her film directed by husband Kamal Amrohi "Pakeezah". The book needed a bit more fodder about her life and career and some more in-depth research. Maybe he was honing his skills as an author / journalist in 1972. Still a good book on the life and times of the "Great Tragedienne" of Indian cinema.

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Review: The Accident

The Accident by Shree Janani
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This 12 page long book is a mix of suspense, romance and horror all mixed together. The author has tried to put in all the elements and tried to narrate a story. When i was approached for a review, I was intrigued by the fact that whether it can be interesting enough. While it did hold my interest, the story ended abruptly and I was a tad disappointed. This might be because the story was restricted by its length. Cannot comment on the characters as there was only so much matter in the book. This being a debut, the author holds promise and would hopefully write a full length book in the future.

PS: Honest review in exchange for a free copy.

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Review: Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star

Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star by Aseem Chhabra
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are expecting an in-depth research into his personal life, you will be disappointed. There is also very little mentioned about his relationships with his co-stars except for a few fleeting quotes by some of his close friends (including a few co-stars) and family members. It delves more into his relationship with James Ivory and Ismail Merchant and his career in the West rather than his personal life and his relationship with his immediate and extended family. Somewhere down the book, you get the feeling that he was aloof and not too much connected to his nephews or their family. However, it strongly brings out the fact that his world centered around his children and his wife and after her death, a part of him died.

Somewhere the author does do justice to the persona that was Shashi Kapoor. It might be due to the fact that he could not get a first hand account from the star himself due to his illness.

This book is more of a filmography than a biography. There are 7 or 8 chapters, each chapter ending with footnotes of the films mentioned in the chapter, detailing the director and the cast of the film. These footnotes constitute about 25% of the book length. The last 10 odd pages contain the list of films Shashi Kapoor acted in with various co-stars. Go ahead and read this without any expectations and you will enjoy it.

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