Hindi cinema has cast a seductive spell over its spectators for close to a century now. Visually arresting, dynamic in outlook and pulsating with life, Bollywood has entertained and enthralled moviegoers over the years with its melodious music, its colourful drama and its lively plotlines. At the very heart of the Bollywood mystique is the towering presence of its galaxy of stars-demigods and divas who have shaped and defined popular cinema, and popular imagination, from one generation to the next.

Bollywood's Top 20 is an exciting collection of brand new essays by renowned writers that pays tribute to Hindi popular cinema's biggest stars of all time from Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Madhubala to Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor-who are indispensable to the Bollywood pantheon. Each piece offers unique insights into the lives of Bollywood's most exceptional legends their struggles and triumphs, downfalls and scandals, and the inscrutable x-factor that made them carve a niche for themselves in an industry bursting with talented professionals and desperate hopefuls.



Author Bio: Bhaichand Patel, editor, saw his first film sitting on his mother's lap in Fiji Islands and fell in love with Maria Montez and Madhubala before the onslaught of puberty. He has seen films on every continent and sat on a number of juries including one at the venerable Venice film festival. While he was posted with United Nations, he studied filmmaking at New York University. He writes regularly on cinema and is the author of Happy Hours: The Penguin Book of Cocktails.