Book Review:The Man Who Tried To Remember by Makarand Sathe

Title: The Man Who Tried To Remember 

Author: Makarand Sathe (translated by Shanta Gokhale)
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Pages: 237
Price: Rs 399

Format: Hardbound
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 7/10

‘The Man Who Tried To Remember’ primarily deals with two things – human mind and the importance of collective against an individual.

Achyut Athavale is a renowned economist and a revered public figure. As an aware social citizen, he has an opinion about everything. He is often invited by institutions to give lectures. One such lecture leads to riot in the city. Pained by the turn of events, Athavale decided to spend the rest of his days in an old age home and to disassociate all ties with his previous life. During his days at the old age home, he murders a fellow inmate, around the time he has lost his memory for a short period. Achyut admits to his crime, but people and circumstances around him collectively work towards proving him innocent.

The beginning is interesting. The narrative indicating the gradual loss of Achyut’s memory is good. The restlessness of the mind has been depicted quite well, more so with respect to a man who loses his memory for some time and the way he tries to recollect in a logical manner using certain technique that he has devised. The narrative moves back and forth in time to guide readers through the story. In this book, the story is not as important as the thoughts and actions.

Honestly, I don’t fancy such subjects yet I fairly enjoyed the book. It is a different kind of story, multi-layered and complex, tipping towards philosophical. It is not a typical page-turner, it requires you to mull over. 

The cover page is interesting. This book has been originally written in Marathi and the narration clearly shows that English is not the language of conception of this story. When a book is translated, it rarely transforms. But I am thankful atleast we are able to read interesting books from different languages through translations.

If you prefer philosophical books and workings of human mind, you might enjoy it much more than I did. 

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Bollywood's Top 20 by Bhaichand Patel

Title: Bollywood’s Top 20 Superstars of Indian Cinema

Author: Bhaichand Patel (Editor))

Publisher: Penguin Viking

Pages: 279

Price: Rs 599

Genre: Non Fiction / Film

Rating: 7/10

If you ask me, my expectations with ‘Bollywood’s Top 20’ were to first find out who all made it to the Top 20, and then discover new facets of their personalities, growth as performers and their cinematic journeys. There are no issues with the essays per se but personally I felt that they were quite on the surface and do not succeed in presenting the superstars intimately.

Most of the stars who make it to the selected top 20 are expected. So you have the tragedy king Dilip Kumar to the evergreen Dev Anand to frighteningly popular Rajesh Khanna, there’s the angry young man Amitabh Bachchan, the quintessential lover boy Shahrukh Khan, the perfectionist Amir Khan alongwith the self-effacing K.L.Sehgal, charismatic Devika Rani, showman Raj Kapoor, Indian earthy beauty Madhuri Dixit and a few more. Frankly, for me - with all due respects to these actors – Shammi Kapoor, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor don’t quite make the cut. If we are talking about “the” Top 20 Superstars of all time, then, no. But as Mr Patel clarifies in the ‘Introduction’, these superstars have been picked up from different decades. In which case, the title should have suggested something to that effect.

The cover page is befitting and celebratory. It is reminiscent of the time when bollywood posters were hand painted and therefore stood out. The cover page captures the Bollywood kitsch in all its glory.

The ‘Introduction’ by the editor Bhaichand Patel establishes his credentials well, explains why these 20 have been picked up for this book and introduces the contributors.

This book is no classic and no must-have for a film buff, yet I enjoyed reading it. There seems to be a basic flow to each of the essays. The focus is on cinematic journeys and most of them stay away from gossip or scandals associated with the star or have been handled diplomatically. Every chapter ends with five favourite films of the actor / actress.

I liked reading about yesteryear actors and actresses like K.L. Sehgal, Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar. In a way, this book also captures the evolution of Indian cinema through these superstars. It is interesting to note that in the beginning there were studios which used to churn out films with the actors and actresses on their payroll. There was no such thing as freelancing. There are many such insights, which were fascinating for me as a reader and as a film buff.

The book also comes with a free CD of 50 memorable songs (picked by the editor).

Film enthusiasts will love spending their Sunday afternoon, reading about these popular superstars.

P.S. My mum was disappointed to read the piece on her favourite Hema Malini because according to her there was nothing new about the 'dream girl' which she did not know already; while my dad appreciated the little nuggets on his favourite stars like Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar. So, keep your expectations low and you will enjoy it J

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