Parveen Babi

‘Raat baaki, baat baaki... Hona hai jo, ho jaane do...’ Sensuous, glamorous and bold, Parveen Babi set the Hindi cinema screen ablaze during the 1970s and ’80s, breaking the ‘pious, nice girl’ mould of the film heroine and redefining it after her own style. On screen, she sizzled in unforgettable roles in blockbusters like Deewaar, Shaan, Kaalia and Amar Akbar Anthony – while, off-screen, her bohemian and unabashed lifestyle lit up gossip columns, and her appearance on the cover of Time magazine, a first for an Indian, created a stir nationwide. Yet, for all the sensational rumours and films her life inspired, Parveen has remained something of an enigma to generations of fans. In Parveen Babi: A Life, Karishma Upadhyay traces the journey of a shy but ambitious girl from an aristocratic family in Junagadh, Gujarat, to a life of merciless scrutiny that comes with being in the Bollywood spotlight. Exploring with depth and sensitivity the myriad facets of the actress’s life, she lays bare little-known details about Parveen’s doomed romances, her obsession with the spiritual guide who advised her to quit films, the tumultuous years of battling mental illness and her tragic, untimely demise. Rich with insights from the star’s friends, former lovers and colleagues, this compelling narrative captures the nuances of an extraordinary life – the highs and lows of finding fame, love and solace, and then, in the end, losing it all.

'A journey to the end of thought. An empty box within an empty box. There is no truth. The robot is dreaming.' This Dog Barking chronicles the story of U.G. Krishnamurti, the Cosmic Naxalite, from his troubled childhood to his disillusionment with many of the leading spiritual teachers of the twentieth century and his catastrophic personal life. In 1967, UG underwent a series of biological mutations that left him in the 'natural state' - functioning without the interference of thought. With no fixed address, no followers and no organization, UG spent the next thirty years travelling the world with an uncompromising message: that 'mind is a myth' and the human condition should be demystified and de-psychologized and viewed in purely physiological terms.Candid and clear-eyed, this is a profoundly thought-provoking biography of one of the most radical philosophers of our age.

Robert John Christo; popularly known as Bob Christo; was born in 1938 in Sydney; Australia. After completing his civil engineering in Sydney; he took on projects which involved supporting the military supply lines of the South Vietnamese army and working as construction supervisor on the film sets of Apocalypse Now. Led by his instincts; Christo zealously followed one aspiration after another: chasing after a lost spy ship; running an escort service; modelling for African beer; singing in rock concerts; and so on. Bob Christo landed his first film role at the age of sixteen in a German movie; after working as an extra in the Düsseldorf National Theatre; Germany. Hoping to meet Parveen Babi in India; he chanced upon a part in Sanjay Khan’s Abdullah (1980) and then went on to act in hundreds of Hindi; Telugu; Tamil; Malayalam and Kannada films. In the year 2000 he became a yoga instructor after shifting base from Mumbai to Bangalore; where he passed away on 20 March 2011.

Few lives have been more eventful and controversial than Protima Bedi's, and Timepass, derived from her unfinished autobiography, journals and her letters to family, friends and lovers, is a startlingly frank and passionate memoir. Protima recounts with unflinching honesty the events that shaped her life: her humiliation as a child at being branded the ugly duckling, repeated rape by a cousin when she was barely ten, the failure of her 'open' marriage with Kabir Bedi, her many sexual encounters, and the romantic relationships she had with prominent politicians and artistes. She writes, too, of her intense involvement with dance, her relationship with her guru and fellow dancers, the difficult mission of establishing Nrityagram, and the suicide of her son--a tragedy from which she never fully recovered. In a moving epilogue to the book, her daughter, Pooja Bedi, describes her last days and the circumstances of her death. Illustrated with over fifty photographs, Timepass is the story of a remarkable woman who had the spirit, the courage and the intelligence to live life entirely on her own terms. I have broken every single rule that our society has so carefully constructed. doing and never given a damn. I have flaunted my youth, my sex, my intelligence, and I have done it shamelessly. I have loved many, been loved by some...

It is they who dumped on us their brand of cheap morality and turned us into Asurs like themselves. This is not acceptable. They can live in their own house and do whatever they feel like but they have certainly no right to sneak into our houses and teach our children their lowly ways. We have a right to know their true characters, and where they have brought us within a matter of one and half a century. We have the right to know what we were without their company, and how low we have sunk being in their company.

Take the trip of a lifetime into the past and present of Bollywood Fascinated by the high energy, high emotion, high color, endless dance routines, and sheer scale of Bollywood—but afraid you'll never really know your Ghazals from your Qawwalis, or your Khans from your Kapoors? Well, in the immortal line from the Hindi-language blockbuster Sultan, "No one can defeat you unless you accept defeat yourself," and there's no need to be defeated at all when you can sit back with Bollywood For Dummies and immerse yourself in the glamorous whirl of one of the most exciting movie industries on Earth. Starting with the time-travel adventure of the book’s main feature—the history of the Hindi-speaking industry from people and events of early to mid 20th century Mumbai—you'll also journey in space, taking fascinating documentary side trips to get to know Tollywood’s Telegu-language cinema in southern India, as well as the growing influence of Lollywood across the border in Pakistan. Written by the cohosts of Desi Standard Time, a podcast that explores Bollywood and South Asian movies and media, you'll see how the unique cinema culture of Bollywood in particular has become a global phenomenon, reflecting the rise of India as an independent nation and presenting its long history—and it’s exciting and multifaceted present—in new, influential, and enduring forms. Whatever you paid the price of entry for: the popular Bollywood "Masala" movie style that emphasizes music, comedy, romance, and action; sensitive critiques of a fast-changing society by the Indian Social Realism movement; new forms of music from Indian disco to Sufi boogie; or a look at the lives and talents of the great acting dynasties—it's all here. And there'll still be plenty more plot twists beyond these to surprise and delight you. Get to know the people who built Bollywood Discover the main music and dance styles Explore and recognize Bollywood’s influence on Western cinema Go social and join up with the liveliest Bollywood fan communities You're right to be excited: for newbies a whole new world awaits, and for aficionados, there's always so much more to know. So, sit back with this book, grab some popcorn or a plate of samosas—or why not both—and prepare to begin an electric feast to sizzle all your senses.