An eclectic, wide-ranging anthology that celebrates all that is fascinating about Hindi Cinema

‘Hindi films go deep into us. They allow us to play a number of roles . . . They offer us a vocabulary for the moments that are too deep—or sometimes too improbable—for language.’

Bollywood rules our lives: it entertains us, gives us dreams, fills us with longing, makes us laugh. It is glorious and it is absurd. The Greatest Show on Earth celebrates all that is fascinating about Hindi cinema.

Writers and industry insiders like Saadat Hasan Manto, Salman Rushdie, Bhisham Sahni, R.K. Narayan, Ismat Chughtai, Suketu Mehta, Shobhaa Dé, Dev Anand, Dada Kondke and Manna Dey write about superstars and strugglers, filmmakers and playback singers, on-screen kisses and off-screen romance, the casting couch and censorship.

Compiled and edited by one of India’s most perceptive and entertaining commentators on the Hindi film industry, this eclectic, wide-ranging anthology will inform and delight everyone with an interest in Indian cinema and popular culture.

CONTRIBUTORS Khwaja Ahmad Abbas * Rachel Dwyer * Connie Haham * Ram Kamal Mukherjee * Kidar Sharma * Vinod Mehta * Bunny Reuben * Ashraf Aziz Pritish Nandy * Bhupen Khakar * Salman Rushdie * Ismat Chughtai * Dada (Krishna) Kondke *Kobita Sarkar * Nasreen Munni Kabir * Khagesh Dev Burman * Adil Jussawalla * Naresh Fernandes * Dev Anand * Saadat Hasan Manto * B.D. Garga * Khushwant Singh * Bhisham Sahni * Madhu Jain * Suketu Mehta * Mukul Kesavan * Dorothee Wenner * Vir Sanghvi R.K. Narayan * Shobhaa Dé *Jerry Pinto *Manna Dey * Kamini Mathai Anupama Chopra * Susmita Dasgupta



Author Bio: Jerry Pinto is a writer, poet and journalist based in Mumbai. His published books include Helen: The Life and Times of a Bollywood H-Bomb, which won the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema.