Have you heard of Footpath (1953), perhaps the most Left-leaning film in which Dilip Kumar gave one of his most nuanced performances? Of director-actor Chandra Shekhar’s Cha Cha Cha (1964), a fascinating musical where the ‘Harijan’ hero becomes a fabulous pop dancer? Of Gaddar (1973), perhaps the finest example of film noir in popular Hindi cinema? Of the Amol Palekar-directed Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jayen (1990), a rare true-blue musical with Nana Patekar at his best? Of Sehar (2005), one of the most underfêted gangster movies by Bollywood? Of Antardwand (2010), a movie on shotgun weddings that gobsmacks you with its authentic portrayal of mofussil Bihar? National Award-winning film writer Avijit Ghosh takes a second look at 40 such compelling Hindi movies that have been largely forgotten. Speaking with the directors, producers, cinematographers, music directors and actors behind these, he explores how and why they have fallen through the cracks of our memory. Insightful, racy and loaded with interesting anecdotes—did you know Simi Garewal was dating cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi during the making of Teen Devian? And that Amitabh Bachchan’s Majboor has shots directly inserted from (not inspired by) Charles Bronson’s film, Cold Sweat? This book is as much for Hindi movie fans as it is for serious

About The Author:

Avijit Ghosh was born in Agartala, capital of the tiny north-eastern state of Tripura and grew up loitering in the small towns of Bihar and Jharkhand: Dumka, Giridih, Arrah and Ranchi. Spending most of his college hours in cinema halls, he graduated in history from St Xavier’s College, Ranchi and filched countless cups of canteen tea from friends on his way to earning MA and M Phil degrees in modern history from Jawaharlal Nehru University. A journalist and a husband for the past 20 years, he has worked with Press Trust of India, The Pioneer (the best days of his life, some months he even worked for half pay), The Telegraph and is now employed as a senior editor with The Times of India.

He has also been a visiting fellow at Center For The Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania. Addicted to cinema and sports, he writes regularly on these subjects. He is author of the novel, Bandicoots in the Moonlight, which suffered the fate of an honorable art movie: a minor critical success and a major commercial failure. His second book, Cinema Bhojpuri, earned him a National Award for Best Writing on Cinema. Every guest at his home since has been forced to admire and appreciate the merit certificate signed by the President by his fawning family members. Avijit lives in Delhi with his mother, wife and two kids, Abhishek and Diya.