Category: Book Reviews

The inner workings of the industry are kept to a bare minimum which is surprising given that he has a career span of almost four decades.

Comedy is a difficult art to master. Apart from timing spontaneous reactions to situations are also necessary. Bramhanandam has enthralled the audiences of different generations and has managed to stay relevant. The relevancy of Bramhanandam is easily visible in how his expressions are used as emojis in different situations of everyday life. Naturally there is lot of curiosity and excitement surrounding his autobiography. It recently came out both in Telugu and English as ‘Nenu mee brahmanandam’ and ‘Me Brahmanandam’ respectively.

We all know that a comedian’s life need not be full of humour. It is never so. Nenu Mee Bramhanandam is no exception. The book covers different stages of Bramhanandam’s personal and professional life starting off from his life in poverty as a young child.

A significant incident in Bramhanandam’s childhood concerns the festival of Diwali. His father Nagalingachary could not afford to buy crackers for his children. But on one occasion when Bramhanandam was persistent about them his father took him along to borrow money from the local landlord. The observant child that he is he noticed his father’s hesitancy while asking for money. This incident made the young child understand the real meaning of poverty along with how to value money.

Bramhanandam’s bonding with his mother Lakshminarasamma also comes out strongly in the way the actor describes her. In one of the pages she gives an important advice to her son about how it is all right even if he doesn’t achieve anything significant in life; but don’t get into the wrong path, don’t get addicted to cigarettes and alcohol. He promised her never to touch them in life and kept it to this day. We are reminded of Gandhi’s mother here. Maybe most mothers give their sons the same advice but not all sons keep their word.

The other engaging chapters in the book are about the time of his studies and his period as lecturer. He recounts how different people helped him at different junctures and doesn’t forget to acknowledge them. Before becoming an actor Bramhanandam had participated in many mimicry shows. There was constant juggling that took a toll on his professional life as his fellow lecturers weren’t very understanding.

Coming to the acting career the chapters that particularly stand out are the ones related to the shooting of Kshana Kshanam and Money. He gives a good description about how the late Sridevi couldn’t control her laughter while shooting with him.

In the comedy thriller Money, Bramhanadam talks about how he was not very sure about playing Khan Dada in the film but still went ahead with it. Apparently the first copy of Money did not receive an encouraging response but the film went on to do big business along with immense appreciation.

Bramhanadam’s special love for late Jandhyala and EVV Satyanarayana can be seen on more than one occasion in the way he remembers them.

As for the disappointments –

One expected more insights into the treatment of comedy in Telugu Cinema. He could have shared his views on the use of slapstick comedy that often tilted towards the vulgar side. The inner workings of the industry are kept to a bare minimum which is surprising given that he has a career span of almost four decades.

Even about his latest film Rangamarthanda which brought him many accolades he touches about it only very briefly. After acting as a comedian in 1200 films he was doing a serious role for almost the first time. He himself said many people are referring his career now as before and after Rangamarthanda. Still he did not elaborate much on such an important shift in his career.  

His belief in God was expressed in almost every sentence. Of course belief in god is an individual choice but to attribute every incident to the almighty was a little overdoing. A crisper edit would have made the book more readable. 

Ready to Fire co-written by Nambi Narayan himself is a book that leaves you with many thoughts much like the movie Rocketry which was released earlier this year. It makes us think about the heavy price that Nambi Narayan had to pay, because of his hefty dreams. It also makes us angry towards those who framed him as a traitor, and built up a false case against him. However, there is one major difference between the movie and the book. There is no denying that Madhavan’s directorial was a touching account of the brilliant scientist, but the book is definitely crisper. The book has two aspects. One is his scientific journey, and the other is the trials and tribulations he faced both professionally and personally. The chapters involving his wife are less but they still move you. Also there is less of technical jargon compared to the movie Rocketry.

In a nutshell, Ready to Fire covers the various aspects of ISRO spy case, Narayan’s development as a scientist and the passion that he had for his pet project Vikas among other things. This project Vikas played a major role in the PSLV and GSLV success later on. The book also touches upon the power struggle between Left v/s Congress in a subtle but impactful way.

The book is 350 pages but we don’t feel the length much. Ready to Fire is interesting for those who are not so much into science as well, because beneath the science it is a moving human story. Don’t know who has written more pages but the writing style of both Nambi Narayan and also Arun Ram keeps you engrossed.

One of my favourite chapters in the book is regarding the evolution of ISRO. The journey of ISRO from the inception to its present is filled with many interesting details. These anecdotes give a different dimension to the book. They are both hilarious and stunning.

The chapters involving the police investigation is painful to read, but there is also a fair amount of sarcasm in the way Nambi Narayan writes about the obvious loopholes in the case registered against him. You can clearly tell that police were under a great deal of pressure to prove that Nambi Narayan was indeed a traitor.

As said earlier the chapters involving his wife are less, but you are not likely to forget her. Her animal like cry on seeing her husband after a long time is easily one of the most disturbing parts in the book. She suffers a severe psychological condition leading to depression also. Finally she comes out of it with the help of her husband.

There is a part in the book where Nambi and his wife step out after a long time to attend a reception. During lunch Nambi gets a call that he has been declared innocent by the Supreme Court of India. At last justice is done. We feel immensely happy.

Lastly the bond of Nambi Narayan with Vikram Sarabhai and Abdul Kalaam also makes an interesting read.

Ready to Fire is a story of human spirit that one shouldn’t miss reading. Both the book and the movie should definitely be on your bucket list.

https://www.primepost.in/ready-to-fire-more-compelling-than-the-movie/

Recently I read two books in the genre of memoirs. One is Ravi Sastri’s ‘Star Gazing’ (The players in my life). The other is ‘Actually… I Met Them’ by Gulzar.  The structure of both books is very similar. Both have an episodic feel to them as they focus on the various prominent personalities they came to know in their respective fields. While Ravi Sastri’s narration has an intimate touch Gulzar’s style is more measured. Both of them do not hesitate to discuss the good and bad of the persons concerned but not harshly, never judgmentally.

 ‘Star Grazing’

Ravi Sastri touches upon many cricketers through the book. The cricketers are of various nationalities and also belong to different age groups. For example he begins off with the likes of Allan Border, Malcolm Marshall, Sunil Gavaskar etc. Later he goes on to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson among others.

There is a lot to enjoy in ‘Star Gazing’ particularly if you are a cricket buff. The book has many anecdotes which are highly interesting. A good example of that is the one on Javed Miandad. On one hand he talks about the street smartness and never say die attitude of Javed Miandad and on the other hand he also reveals the eccentric side of the Pakistani batsman.

One of my favorite chapters in the book though is about Kevin Peterson. He titles it as ‘Great career interrupted’. Kevin Peterson is described as one of the most dangerous batsman ever seen at the batting crease. He was someone who could knock the wind out of any bowling team, spin or fast but his career was cut short because of the unfortunate incidents involving his teammates and also the English Wales board. After that his career was cut short at its peak. Without blaming anyone Ravi Sastri bemoans the loss of an indomitable cricketing talent to the world. He feels all the parties involved could have resolved the situation. There is a comparison to Australia’s Ricky Ponting who was also a bit volatile at the start of his career but later on transformed into a run machine.

The chapters on the likes of Kapil Dev, Jacques Kallis, Ian Botham etc are also engaging but at the same time it is a bit of a mystery why he left out someone like Shaun Pollock since Shaun was also a great all rounder.

Other chapters worth mentioning are the ones on Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. He lays out the techniques and temperaments of both these batsman which distinguish them from each other. The best thing about these chapters is that he never goes into the zone of clichéd comparisons. Instead he explains the merits and demerits of each and leaves it to the audience’s judgment. ‘Star Gazing’ is worth a read not just for cricket buffs but others will also enjoy it because of Ravi Sastri’s narration.

‘Actually…I Met Them’

Gulzar’s book was a little disappointing in the beginning. I even thought his memories were not as enchanting as his lyrics. That is because his style is not racy, a bit dry I must say. It looked as though he measured every word ten times before putting it on paper. But all that was reserved for his mentors/elders like Bimal Roy, Salil Chowdhury, Satyajit Ray, Utham Kumar etc. His memories of them had more of respect and less of interaction. From Kishore Kumar onwards he warms up. Since Kishore, Pancham (R.D.Burman), Sanjeev Kumar and Basu Bhattacharya are his close friends he could give us a real intimate peep into their personalities.

While talking (by the way these are oral narrations, not written pieces; first published in Bengali and later translated into English) about Kishore Kumar he says “Even in his madness he remained hundred percent aware. For him each love affair was pure while it lasted.”

Gulzar is called ‘Gullu’ by all his friends. When Pancham died he said “A large part of me departed with him; the Gulzar that remains now is but half complete.” He shares many memories of Pancham very fondly.

Sanjeev Kumar is another dear friend close to his heart. He recounts many incidents where Sanjeev was appreciated by senior actors, co actors etc. He ends the essay with ‘What sort of a person was I that I could make films even after he was no more?’ He mourns the death of Basu Bhattacharya similarly with the words – “A hungry silence seemed to descend upon me.”

In total he wrote about 18 people. All of them well known film personalities, mostly from Bengal; maybe because this column was written for a Bengali newspaper. In the context of Ritwik Ghatak his observation is worth quoting. “The artistic landscape is made up of diversity of talents. There will always be those who are nomads, radiant with talent and transient like comets. We must learn to accept such people on their own terms”.

‘Lady Doctors’ written by Kavita Rao is much more than just a book about six lady doctors. Above everything else she brings how these women had to struggle to carve out their careers irrespective of where they came from. Upper or lower caste doesn’t really matter. This particularly comes out in the case of Kadambini Ganguly, who is a Bengali Brahmin. In spite of decent support from husband and society she still had her fair share of struggles.

‘Lady Doctors’ begins off with the story of Anandibai Joshi. She is also a Bramhin who became the first Indian woman to cross the seas and travel to Philadelphia to study medicine. Her life was cut short by illness, malnutrition and lack of adequate health care. Her life ended before she could practice medicine but Anandibai still remains an inspiration.

Some of the other important women include Rukhmabai Raut. Rukhmabai is born in a Suthar (viswakarma community) caste in Bombay. She was the first to try and legally break her marriage. In her lifetime Rukhmabai smashed every rule of Hindu society. She also faced the wrath of activists like Bala Gangadhar Tilak. In spite of him being a freedom fighter he was not able to accept women’s equality.

The stories of the other women also make for a fascinating read. These are Muthulakshmi Reddy and Mary Poonen Lukose. Muthulakshmi Reddy is an important personality for many reasons. Chief most reason being that she was the first member of the women’s Indian association. Muthulakshmi was a doctor and a feminist who battled against caste-based misogyny. Her mother was a devadasi called Chandrammal. Her father was ostracized from the family for marrying a devadasi. In her childhood she developed a close bond with the maternal side of her family. That closeness made her aware about the Devadasi community and their issues.

Mary Poonen Lukose is also an important personality as she was the first surgeon general of Tranvancore. The most admirable thing about her is the fact that she wanted to make a difference to the womenfolk of her land. After finishing medical education she decided to come to Travancore rather than pursuing a career in England.

A major highlight of the book is how Kavita Rao intertwines the politics of their times along with the stories of the women. For example in the introduction of Kadambini Ganguly there is a telling sentence. “In 1891, the conservative Bangabasi paper departed from its usual subjects to call Kadambini Ganguly – a matronly lady doctor- a whore.”

Out of the six stories some are taken from the briefest material available, others are backed by personal accounts. Out of the personal accounts the most heart rendering one is that of Haimabati Sen. This can be seen in the following words. “During the day, she and her husband’s daughters would play with dolls. At night, she would make excuses to avoid her husband’s advances. Haimabati would lie on the bed, silent and stiff as a piece of wood. When she fell asleep, someone would remove her clothes; she would wake up and wrap herself in a blanket.”

Kavita Rao also does a good job in binding all these stories together. Her excellence can be seen in the way that she places them in a context. Because of this you are able to appreciate the force of their will to succeed in their goals. In spite of the different backgrounds and methods the commonality is their desire to snip the patriarchal practices.

In a nutshell ‘Lady Doctors’ gives an important message about how the future generations should remember the efforts of our predecessors.

There is no denying that Agni Sridhar has led a fascinating life. He had studied law in Bangalore and was keen on entering The Indian Civil service but circumstances took such a turn that he had to join crime. Starting from early 1980’s he found himself stuck in middle of a gang war that shaped modern Bangalore. Later on he also turned into a journalist apart from becoming a filmmaker.

Gangs of Bangalore is much more than just a tale of murder and blood, it is also about a system that runs parallel to the world that ordinary people inhabit. It is an universe with its own force and laws. It is a difficult to pen down such a detailed life and strain of it shows more than once. Gangs of Bangalore is very much readable but at the same time it is exhausting too given the number of details. It is like the author had assumed that everyone is familiar with the names. The book could have done with some serious editing.

The thing which I liked most about the book was his observations on the underworld and how this parallel system ran. He gives some nice insights into his associates, police officers and others. Although we have seen in films like Satya and Shiva about the connection of politicians and the underworld it still makes for an interesting read as this is an firsthand account of someone who has been in that place.

There are references to how the politicians pampered the underworld, the reason being they were of use during the elections. How the police are used by the politicians has also been vividly presented.

Towards the end of his time in the underworld Sridhar had a brush with Bombay dons and their boys. There is an interesting comment that he makes about the difference between the Bangalore and Bombay criminals. He says that people in Bombay do not fight for personal revenge like they do in Bangalore. These kinds of reflections elevate the book.

Another thing which I liked was how Agni Sridhar didn’t hide his faults and presented an objective picture of himself. At no point does he glorify what he is doing.

The biggest drawback of the book is the number of characters and their inter-relationships. While Sridhar’s memory in remembering the episodes is truly remarkable but at the same time it is exhausting for the readers too. For those who are familiar with 80’s Bangalore may have an easier time but for others it is going to be an arduous task.

Read Gangs of Bangalore if you are in the mood for some history but also be prepared to have some patience.

Rani Padmini (The Heroine of Chittor) by B.K.Karkra

Rani Padmini is someone who needs no introduction thanks to the various works that have been written about her and also Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavaat released in 2018. B.K.Karkra in this latest book attempts to clear all the doubts regarding her existence. It is written with a clear purpose of stating that she isn’t a figment of someone’s imagination. How much you believe the writer is debatable but there is no denying that the book makes for a good read particularly for those who are into history.

The book is divided into seventeen chapters. It starts off with the various things that people have written about her. This includes the most popular of the lot ‘Padmaavat’ written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. After this we move to the Queens who were contemporaries of Queen Padmini along with various other facets of her period. There are also long chapters on Alauddin Khilji and Padmini’s husband Rana Rawal Ratan Singh.  Karkra also brings in the perspectives of poets and other people.

One of the most engaging chapters in this book is about the politics of her times along with the dangers and the humiliations that the Queens had to face particularly during the wars. It is a well known fact that women were the worst sufferers of wars but the details make you feel emotional. There is a detailed chapter on this where he talks about the conditions of women of that period.

Through this chapter we come to know about how the practice of Sati, Jauhar etc germinated in our society.

The chapters on Alauddin Khilji and Rawal Ratan Singh also make for a fascinating read. Talking about Alauddin Khilji, Karkra says that he was someone who had genuine respect for brave people irrespective of which side of the fence they were on. He takes the example of Hamir Dev Chauhan who was an adversery to Alauddin Khilji. We also get to know that he placed high value on loyalty.

Regarding Alauddin Khilji’s behavior towards women the writer says that he is believed to have behaved well with women in his harem. How much of that is true is something which cannot be ascertained.

The chapter on the practice of Jauhar before and after Padmavati is another engaging chapter. In this chapter Karkra talks about how majority of Jauhars are connected with the defeat of Hindus at the hands of the Muslim rulers. He adds that no Jauhars took place when Hindus won over Hindus or for that matter in wars related to the Britishers.

In the final tally, Rani Padmini makes an interesting read irrespective of how much you agree with B.K Karkra.

https://www.primepost.in/rani-padmini-was-real-not-imagination/