Devdas is the title of a 1920s novella by the farmed Bengali writer saratchandra chatterjee. It became so popular that 15 film versions were made in various Indian Languages and periods. Bimal Roy's 1955 film is considered the finest as it sensitively tells the tragic love story between Devdas (Dilip Kumar), the son of Brahmin landlord Aand Parvati (suchita sen) his childhood sweetheart. Caste and class difference keep the lovers apart. Parvati is married of to a rich older man and devdas, who allows Chandramukhi (Vijayanthimala), a selfless prostitute, to help him at first, but ultimately finding no meaning to life, he takes to drink. The Dialogue of Devdas will be presented in a four language format: Hindi, Urdu, Romanised Hindi, Urdu and English translation. Forewords by Bimal Roy's Family and extensive commentary are also featured.

One Of The Most Enduring Love Stories Of Our Times. First Published In Bengali In 1917, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay'S Tragic Tale Of Devdas Has Become Synonymous With A Passionate, Intense Love That Does Not Find Consummation. It Is The Story Of Devdas And Paro, Childhood Sweethearts Who Are Torn Apart When Devdas Is Sent Away To Calcutta By His Father, The Local Zamindar. When Devdas Returns To His Village, Now A Handsome Lad Of Nineteen, Paro Asks Him To Marry Her. But Devdas Is Unable To Stand Up To Parental Opposition To The Match And Rejects The Proposition. Stunned, Paro Agrees To Marry An Elderly Widower. Devdas Returns To Calcutta, But Every Waking Hour Of His Is Now Filled With Thoughts Of Paro And His Unfulfilled Love For Her. Desperate To Resolve The Situation Somehow, He Runs To Paro Who Is Now Married And Asks Her To Elope With Him, But She Refuses. Heartbroken, He Seeks Solace In Alcohol And In The Company Of The Courtesan Chandramukhi. Chandramukhi Falls In Love With Devdas, But Even When He Is With Her He Can Only Think Of Paro. It Is Now His Destiny To Hurtle On Relentlessly On The Path To Self-Destruction. Devdas S Tortured Life Ends When, Dying Of A Liver Ailment Brought On By Alcoholism, He Journeys To Paro S House To See Her One Last Time. Arriving In The Middle Of The Night, He Dies Unknown, Untended, On Her Doorstep. Paro Comes To Know Of His Death Only The Following Morning. Devdas Has Enthralled Readers And Filmgoing Audiences Alike For The Better Part Of A Century. This New Translation Brings The Classic Tale Of Star-Crossed Lovers Alive For A New Generation Of Readers. The Classic Novel Brought To Life In A New, Lucid, Extremely Readable Translation.

An authentic, heartfelt and compelling narrative – straight from the horse’s mouth – that reveals for the first time numerous unknown aspects of the life and times of one of the greatest legends of all time who stands out as a symbol of secular India. Dilip Kumar (born as Yousuf Khan), who began as a diffident novice in Hindi cinema in the early 1940s, went on to attain the pinnacle of stardom within a short time. He came up with spellbinding performances in one hit film after another – in his almost six-decade-long career – on the basis of his innovative capability, determination, hard work and never-say-die attitude. In this unique volume, Dilip Kumar traces his journey right from his birth to the present. In the process, he candidly recounts his interactions and relationships with a wide variety of people not only from his family and the film fraternity but also from other walks of life, including politicians. While seeking to set the record straight, as he feels that a lot of what has been written about him so far is ‘full of distortions and misinformation’, he narrates, in graphic detail, how he got married to Saira Banu, which reads like a fairy tale! Dilip Kumar relates, matter-of-factly, the event that changed his life: his meeting with Devika Rani, the boss of Bombay Talkies, when she offered him an acting job. His first film was Jwar Bhata (1944). He details how he had to learn everything from scratch and how he had to develop his own distinct histrionics and style, which would set him apart from his contemporaries. After that, he soon soared to great heights with movies such as Jugnu, Shaheed, Mela, Andaz, Deedar, Daag and Devdas. In these movies he played the tragedian with such intensity that his psyche was adversely affected. He consulted a British psychiatrist, who advised him to switch over to comedy. The result was spectacular performances in laugh riots such as Azaad and Kohinoor, apart from a scintillating portrayal as a gritty tonga driver in Naya Daur. After a five-year break he started his ‘second innings’ with Kranti (1981), after which he appeared in a series of hits such as Vidhaata, Shakti, Mashaal, Karma, Saudagar and Qila.

Collection of 30 essays from directors who worked closely with Shah Rukh Khan; includes hand-painted film posters.

A tribute to the first Singer-Superstar of Indian Cinema Hailed as shahenshah-e-mausiqi (emperor of music) and acclaimed as the ghazal king, K.L. Saigal became a phenomenon in his own lifetime. Idolized for his distinctive style by the first generation of Bollywood playback singers, he is now also the subject of study by several scholars. With no formal training, Saigal recorded 185 songs, including the immortal Diya jalao jagmag jagmag, Rumjhum rumjhum chaal tihari, Baag laga doon sajani and Jab dil hi toot gaya. He also acted in thirty-six feature films, including Tansen, Street Singer and Shahjehan. His popularity, however, skyrocketed with Devdas in which he played the doomed lover to perfection, a portrayal which would influence every actor playing a tragic hero thereafter. This book, interspersed with archival photographs and appended with a filmography and selected songs, provides a fascinating account of one of Hindi cinema’s greatest legends.

This book investigates the millennial history of the Indian subcontinent. Through the various methods adopted, the objects and moments examined, it questions various linguistic, literary and artistic appropriations of the past, to address the conflicting comprehensions of the present and also the figuring/imagining of a possible future. The volume engages with this general cultural condition, in relation both to the subcontinent’s current “synchronic” reality and to certain aspects of the culture’s underlying diachronic determinations. It also reveals how the multiple heritages are negotiated through the subcontinent’s long-term sedimentational history. It scrutinizes both conservative interpretations of heritage and a possibly incremental enrichment, and the additional possibility of a mode of appropriation open to a dialectic of creative destruction, in which the patrimonial imperative is challenged, leaving room for processes of renewal and rejuvenation. The collection is organized around four major topics: Orientalism, addressed by way of the Tamil Epic Manimekalai, through the evocation of the Hastings Circle and views on a possible Hindu-Muslim unity sketched out by Sayyid Ahmed Khan; modernism in Indian and Burmese texts written in English; pictorial art, through a consideration of the work of British Asian and Indian film directors; and, finally, the current state of a body of critical thinking on gender.