Bombay Duck is a Fish by Kanika Dhillon
This is a wonderful book about the Indian film industry. The author beautifully captures what goes on behind the camera. It is all so believable.
As the story unfolds, several themes come to the fore: urban friendships, a young person's quest for meaning. Most middle-class youngsters would immediately recognize their own stories articulated in the book. In the last three decades, many young people moved towards metro cities to fulfill their dreams albeit not necessarily in the films.
There are two things that bothered me slightly. The author presents Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan as angels, whereas almost every other character is flawed. I am not sure who is Kashish Kapoor (Karishma Kapoor?) but it seems that the author is unnecessarily unfair to her. In such a competitive and deceptive world, the leading actors have to be selfish and practical, else they will not go very far. Usually one hears a lot about casting couch and that young girls are exploited. In the book, it is the hero Ranvir Khanna who prostitutes himself to make his career.
There is much in the book that is clearly autobiographical. The story of Neki, though excellently rendered, does not really spell out how she manages such an easy access to the likes of Farah Khan.
The author projects herself as a small time girl from a small city, but she downplays her privilege. Not many girls go to Stephens and London School of Economics, and one does not become privileged only by living in a big city.
Apart from this minor flaws, I enjoyed the book. There is enough in the book that tells us that Neki's journey is her own and that she is real.
As the story unfolds, several themes come to the fore: urban friendships, a young person's quest for meaning. Most middle-class youngsters would immediately recognize their own stories articulated in the book. In the last three decades, many young people moved towards metro cities to fulfill their dreams albeit not necessarily in the films.
There are two things that bothered me slightly. The author presents Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan as angels, whereas almost every other character is flawed. I am not sure who is Kashish Kapoor (Karishma Kapoor?) but it seems that the author is unnecessarily unfair to her. In such a competitive and deceptive world, the leading actors have to be selfish and practical, else they will not go very far. Usually one hears a lot about casting couch and that young girls are exploited. In the book, it is the hero Ranvir Khanna who prostitutes himself to make his career.
There is much in the book that is clearly autobiographical. The story of Neki, though excellently rendered, does not really spell out how she manages such an easy access to the likes of Farah Khan.
The author projects herself as a small time girl from a small city, but she downplays her privilege. Not many girls go to Stephens and London School of Economics, and one does not become privileged only by living in a big city.
Apart from this minor flaws, I enjoyed the book. There is enough in the book that tells us that Neki's journey is her own and that she is real.
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