‘I absolutely LOVED this book!’ Donna’s Book Blog Zara Das is Bollywood’s hottest actress, stalked by paparazzi wherever she goes. But behind the glamour lies the truth of how she reached the top. Zara’s new film, a Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice being shot in London, should overcome the scandal that threatens her career - until a dead body is found in her hotel room. Someone is determined to take Zara down - and will stop at nothing to expose her darkest secrets. Zara has spent years running from her past. But now it’s caught up with her... A sexy, gripping novel set in the world of Bollywood, for fans of Jackie Collins and Crazy Rich Asians. Everyone’s talking about Bollywood Wives: ‘Wow!! Sexy, mysterious, suspenseful and full of delicious and devious surprises...Loved it!’ Angela Marsons, author of Dead Memories and Silent Scream ‘Bollywood Wives is so fresh and exciting...If you enjoy books filled with drama and characters that will keep you entertained and gripped, then I highly recommend it. Hooked From Page One ‘This is a sultry, sexy and rather dark thriller that pulls out all the stops!...There were some very steamy scenes and some rather unexpected twists as well.’ My Chestnut Reading Tree ‘This is an engrossing read...It speaks up for strong female role-models’ Jan’s Book Buzz ‘this is a real bonk buster of a novel...A great book for reading on a hot beach somewhere – and it certainly took me back to my Jackie Collins days!’ Always Need More Books ‘Bollywood Wives is a melting pot of thriller, crime, feminism, Real Housewives and Sex & the City, dressed in a sari’ From Belgium With Book Love ‘This is a sexy, thrilling and often tense story which brings Bollywood to London and will keep readers hooked from the very explosive start.’ Jen Med’s Book Reviews ‘a firecracker of a story with something for everyone, from romance to suspense, and this is a book that is vibrant and addictive in all of the right ways!’ Books of All Kinds ‘Bollywood Wives is a well-made soap-operatic melodrama with a powerful cultural kick to it...Hooray for Bollywood and these wives.’ Silver Screen Videos ‘SO much drama, gossip, and angst. SO much fun to read! The perfect escapist story, a book to lose yourself in.’ Audio Killed the Bookmark ‘Wow – I don’t think I have ever read a book like this before!... An addictive, glamorous and intense read.’ The Writing Garnet ‘I loved it... Highly addictive, classic storytelling and a huge dose of heart. Very good indeed.’ Liz Loves Books ‘Real Housewives meets Bollywood in a dangerous mix of sex, glamour and revenge. It’s a real showstopper of a read.’ Steph Broadribb, author of Deep Dirty Truth ‘Full of glitz and glamour...I read it in a day.’ Ayisha Malik – author of This Green and Pleasant Land ‘Sex, mystery and a fascinating peek beyond the gold thread and jewel-coloured silks of Asia's own Tinsel Town. Move over, Jackie Collins!’ Marnie Riches, author of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die

The subtitle says it all: how and why Bollywood found it worthwhile to explore the reality of the millennial women who are thriving in India - small part of the demographics but very influential. Advertising discovered women as The Hindi film Heroine is a brand and brand ambassador. The market met contemporary women who are independent, with freer attitudes to relationships, including pre-marital sex, Rom coms of the new millennium reflect this new-found freedom, defying patriarchy that still defines our society. Globalisation is culturally irreversible. From the 1990s onwards, Bollywood has responded to globalisation with fear of loss of identity and desire to integrate with global trends. It results in popular cinema becoming glocal. Bollywood celebrates nonconformists, subversives woman as the hero, stories in their own way unequivocally said No means No. Most daringly. Iconic characters like Choti Bahu, Paro and Chandramukhi transformed into today’s women with the power to change their lives. This happened with the energy infused into the mainstream by indie filmmakers with vision and the will to tell stories in their own way.

This book traces the journey of popular Hindi cinema from 1913 to contemporary times when Bollywood has evolved as a part of India’s cultural diplomacy. Avoiding a linear, developmental narrative, the book re-examines the developments through the ruptures in the course of cinematic history. The essays in the volume critically consider transformations of the Hindi film industry from its early days to its present self-referential mode, issues of gender, dance and choreography, Bombay cinema’s negotiations with the changing cityscape and urbanisms, and concentrate on its multifarious regional, national and transnational implications in the 21st century. One of the most comprehensive volumes on Bollywood, this work presents an analytical overview of the multiple histories of popular cinema in India and will be useful to scholars and researchers interested in film and media studies, South Asian popular culture and modern India, as well as to cinephiles and general readers alike.

"Subtly altered how I see the world." —Michelle Goldberg, New York Times “[Status and Culture] consistently posits theories I'd never previously considered that instantly feel obvious.” —Chuck Klosterman, author of The Nineties “Why are you the way that you are? Status and Culture explains nearly everything about the things you choose to be—and how the society we live in takes shape in the process.” —B.J. Novak, writer and actor Solving the long-standing mysteries of culture—from the origin of our tastes and identities, to the perpetual cycles of fashions and fads—through a careful exploration of the fundamental human desire for status All humans share a need to secure their social standing, and this universal motivation structures our behavior, forms our tastes, determines how we live, and ultimately shapes who we are. We can use status, then, to explain why some things become “cool,” how stylistic innovations arise, and why there are constant changes in clothing, music, food, sports, slang, travel, hairstyles, and even dog breeds. In Status and Culture, W. David Marx weaves together the wisdom from history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to demonstrate exactly how individual status seeking creates our cultural ecosystem. Marx examines three fundamental questions: Why do individuals cluster around arbitrary behaviors and take deep meaning from them? How do distinct styles, conventions, and sensibilities emerge? Why do we change behaviors over time and why do some behaviors stick around? The answers then provide new perspectives for understanding the seeming “weightlessness” of internet culture. Status and Culture is a book that will appeal to business people, students, creators, and anyone who has ever wondered why things become popular, why their own preferences change over time, and how identity plays out in contemporary society. Readers of this book will walk away with deep and lasting knowledge of the often secret rules of how culture really works.

Julia Robinson’s bored. Her job at a top London ad agency is starting to feel a bit same-ish, her London rent is killing her and she’s been rained on one time too many to find the British weather amusing any longer. More importantly, everyone but her seems to be paired off in cosy twosomes.Julia wants to shake things up—and to the horror of friends and family jumps at the chance of a new job in Mumbai. Armed with nothing but a travel guide, fondness for curry and a vague awareness of Bollywood, she finds herself bang in the centre of one of the most chaotic, energetic cities in the world. But will she be able to navigate the potholes in the street, the glitzy nightlife of exclusive clubs and expensive cocktails, and the customs and traditions of a whole new world to find her way to Mr Right?

Misogyny across Global Media argues that, although women’s experiences under misogyny are by no means universal, patriarchal social and institutional systems facilitate gender-based hostility across the globe. Contributors demonstrate how systemic misogyny and power inequities are at the root of women’s suffering at the hands of misogyny, with consequences ranging from sexual harassment to rape and even murder. This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of systemic misogyny worldwide, analyzing specific cases such as the controversial Child Marriage Act in Bangladesh, sexual harassment in India’s Bollywood culture, rape culture among military forces in Jammu and Kashmir, the murder of female students in Kenya, and femicide in Turkey. This collection discusses how misogyny creates a clash of cultures between men and women, the powerful and the oppressed, and the conservative and the liberal, and uncovers the evils that are perpetrated against women worldwide as a result of systemic misogyny. Scholars of gender studies, media studies, and cultural studies will find this book particularly useful.

From cinema's silent beginnings, fashion and interior design have been vital to character development and narrative structure. Despite spectacular technological advancements on screen, stunning silhouettes and striking spaces still have the ability to dazzle to dramatic effect. This book is the first to consider the significant interplay between fashion and interiors and their combined contribution to cinematic style from early film to the digital age. With examples from Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architecture in Hitchcock's North by Northwest, to Coco Chanel's costumes for Gloria Swanson and a Great Gatsby film-set turned Ralph Lauren flagship, Cinematic Style describes the reciprocal relationship between these cultural forms. Exposing the bleeding lines between fashion and interiors in cinematic and real-life contexts, Berry presents case studies of cinematic styles adopted as brand identities and design movements promoted through filmic fantasy. Shedding light on consumer culture, social history and gender politics as well as on fashion, film and interior design theory, Cinematic Style considers the leading roles domestic spaces, quaint cafes, little black dresses and sharp suits have played in 20th and 21st-century film.