“The root of joy is gratefulness”.
Rishi is back with his second book.
Before I give more insight on this; let me take a minute to say that I am immensely grateful to all those good people around me who understand my long bouts of silence. One such humble soul is Rishi Vohra. Rishi who was kind enough in sending his second book for my review and even more patient enough in waiting for me to post the review… A humble thank you Rishi.
Rishi's debut book Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai touched a chord and I instantly knew his latest offering would also have a warm humane connect. Besides, the book also promised to give an insight into the workings of hindi film industry (HiFI for the insiders) as Rishi himself was once part of this larger than life industry and his own struggles in the by lanes of Mumbai city have been etched.
Now to the review..
I am a huge Hindi Film Buff. Sneaking in film magazines like cineblitz or filmfare and secretly reading them was one of my favorite pastimes during my school days. Anything remotely revolving around the so called ‘Bollywood’ has me excited. So I looked forward to the second book which has Hindi film industry as its backdrop.
The protagonist of the story, Rayhan is one of those endearing Indian faces who like many other nameless Indians follows his father’s/parent’s ambitions. Despite harboring a raging passion to make it big in the Hindi Film Industry, he ends up pursuing a Finance degree in the US of A. But a few underlying pressures from his dad makes him concoct a lie and come back to Mumbai to follow his dreams.
On his way to living his dream, he encounters a mixed box of colorful characters like his maid’s daughter, Viola, Peter, his gay director and an egoist film star. How he juggles with all these characters while conveniently dodging his father’s calls and how the truth finally emerges solving the jigsaw puzzle of his life is the story.
Now for the Yay's & Nay's
Yay's to
Rishi is back with his second book.
Before I give more insight on this; let me take a minute to say that I am immensely grateful to all those good people around me who understand my long bouts of silence. One such humble soul is Rishi Vohra. Rishi who was kind enough in sending his second book for my review and even more patient enough in waiting for me to post the review… A humble thank you Rishi.
Rishi's debut book Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai touched a chord and I instantly knew his latest offering would also have a warm humane connect. Besides, the book also promised to give an insight into the workings of hindi film industry (HiFI for the insiders) as Rishi himself was once part of this larger than life industry and his own struggles in the by lanes of Mumbai city have been etched.
Now to the review..
I am a huge Hindi Film Buff. Sneaking in film magazines like cineblitz or filmfare and secretly reading them was one of my favorite pastimes during my school days. Anything remotely revolving around the so called ‘Bollywood’ has me excited. So I looked forward to the second book which has Hindi film industry as its backdrop.
The protagonist of the story, Rayhan is one of those endearing Indian faces who like many other nameless Indians follows his father’s/parent’s ambitions. Despite harboring a raging passion to make it big in the Hindi Film Industry, he ends up pursuing a Finance degree in the US of A. But a few underlying pressures from his dad makes him concoct a lie and come back to Mumbai to follow his dreams.
On his way to living his dream, he encounters a mixed box of colorful characters like his maid’s daughter, Viola, Peter, his gay director and an egoist film star. How he juggles with all these characters while conveniently dodging his father’s calls and how the truth finally emerges solving the jigsaw puzzle of his life is the story.
Now for the Yay's & Nay's
Yay's to
- Lucid narration and witty dialogues
- Self introspective mode of writing
- I loved the character of the cheery spot boy. Wish there were more characters like him in real world
- Breezy read
- I could empathize with Rayhan - the patriarchal mindset of the society that stifles him into doing things that his heart is not after is something I could connect with
Nay's to
- Hindi film industry could have been portrayed with much more depth. Yes, the topics of casting couch, drug abuse and closet gays has been shown but lacks the intensity and layered touch.
- Predictive twists
Final Word :-
A quote I saw on Pinterest would sum it all up
(Source:Pinterest)
Author : Rishi Vohra
Price : INR 299/-
Publisher : Jaico Publishing House
Category : Fiction
Recommendation : A huge Thumbs Up!
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