Book Review | Bioscope

Book: Bioscope
Author: Diptakirti Chaudhuri
Publisher: Hachette India
Pages: 222  
Price: Rs 399

Did you know that 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro', the 1983 cult dark comedy, had a sequence deleted in the final cut – about a contract killer brought in to kill its protagonists, the two photographers played by Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani? And guess who played the killer? Anupam Kher, then a struggling newcomer wanting to make it big in Bollywood.

'Bioscope', subtitled 'A Frivolous History of Bollywood in Ten Chapters' is full of such trivia. Interestingly, everything in this book revolves around the number 10 – chapters, topics or the number of items on listicles at the end of each chapter. Diptakirti Chaudhuri, described as "salesman by day and writer by night" uncovers little known aspects of Bollywood history without the heavy-handed tone that such endeavours tend to have.

For instance, the first chapter on box-office collections of blockbusters down from Mother India, 'Mughal-e-Azam' and 'Sholay' to 'Hum Apke Hai Kaun', 'Gadar' and Dangal does not limit itself to figures from India, but makes it interesting by digging out how these films fared in other parts of the world. Raj Kapoor's 'Awara' (1956) was watched by around 64 million Russians, making it a phenomenon in the then Soviet Union, and generating a revenue of approximately 29 million roubles (around `3.4 crore at the time).

A chapter titled 'Kissa Kahani Ka' tells the story behind the stories – how the scripts of some of the most memorable films came to be written, how they evolved, how some actors got more prominence than others. 'Amar Akbar Anthony', Chaudhuri reveals, grew out of a newspaper report, and 'Gangs of Wasseypur', from the disagreement of two roommates over a crime film, with one of them saying it was nothing like what happened in Wasseypur, his hometown. Then there's the story of 'Simran', a little-known film that brought into limelight the question of story credit, and whether 'suggestions' merited a separate mention.

Another interesting chapter is the one on villains where Chaudhuri not just lists out the names, but also arranges them into categories such as troublesome parents, moneylenders, dacoits, shady businessmen, politicians, dons and smugglers. He also points out how villains have become 'cool' alongside heroes – note John Abraham in 'Dhoom'.

Then there are chapters on expats, songs, filmy fashion, biopics and films based on recent history including the liberation of Bangladesh, the Emergency, Kashmir, Kargil war, Gujarat riots, etc.