Non-Fiction Reads: Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored with Meena Iyer

Acting was in my blood and there was simply no escaping it. When I say this, I am thinking of not just the Kapoors but also the Malhotras, my mother’s side of the family, who were just as volatile as my father and his relatives.

Rishi Kapoor (1952 - 2020), the legendary spontaneous actor, was also an outspoken man, a wholesomely non-existent quality in a Hindi film celebrity. Just that one refreshing quality makes Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored a honest, spunky, if disjointed autobiographical account.

You may not like Rishi Kapoor as a person at all after reading the crushing Neetu Kapoor (wife, actor)  afterword. Neetu Kapoor's outburst is very revelatory of a man who is at home as an actor, but is otherwise a male chauvinist by his own admission, selfish, arrogant, and short-tempered.   

The Kapoors, Cinema's first family 

Rishi Kapoor belonged to the illustrious Kapoor family, easily the most iconic, talented family to have worked in Indian cinema. 

For four generations now, the extended Kapoor family have created unforgettable moments in Hindi films, the biggest star of them - Rishi's father - writer, director, producer, actor, Raj Kapoor. 

That Rishi Kapoor had no dearth of source material is both the book's doing and undoing. There are mountain loads of it and in a haphazard, zigzag manner, readers are in for a treat. 

Speculatively speaking, co-writer Meena Iyer either recorded or took down notes from Kapoor and then brought the whole book together, a staggering achievement by her to make sense of the abundant, exclusive material. 

Art in the blood: Rishi Kapoor, years before Mera Naam Joker (1970)

Movie star craziness 

Indian cinema is over a hundred years old now and the Kapoors have been an influential part of it for almost nine decades, spanning four generations, beginning in 1928 when my grandfather joined the Grant Anderson Theatre Company. He was, in fact, the last of the male Kapoors to graduate from college. He had started a course in law too, but the draw of theatre was too strong. He abandoned that degree for an acting career.

My grandfather was only fifteen or sixteen years old when he chose to become a stage actor. And his foray into the film industry was heralded by no less a figure than Rabindranath Tagore himself.

- Book Excerpt 

This is not a flowy, one-minded swing but an anecdote-rich book. 

The craziness, the madness of movie stars, how uncle, rebel star Shammi Kapoor drove his hand through glass just to get female attention is just one shocker. 

Kapoor also admits to have paid to receive a prominent film award. The blunt frankness in talking about disagreements with all his contemporaries, from Rakesh Roshan, Jeetendra, and Amitabh Bachchan is pure autobiographical joy. 

Kapoor in his first blockbuster Bobby (1973) 

Too much, too little? 

Strangely, despite Prithviraj Kapoor’s stature in the film industry, my father didn’t grow up dreaming of an acting career for himself. He in fact wanted to enroll at Dufferin, the naval training school, and join the Indian Navy. Fate willed otherwise and perhaps it was also the pull of his genes towards the world of cinema. After he failed his final exams at school, Papa started work as an assistant to film-maker Kedar Sharma. It wasn’t a long stint though, because he ended up stepping in front of the camera – and a star was born. His first role, at the age of twenty-three, was as lead actor in Sharma’s own Neel Kamal (1946). After that there was no looking back. Just one year later, he launched his own film production company, RK Films, becoming the youngest studio owner ever in India. He made his first film, Aag, the same year. These achievements were early evidence that he would go on to be regarded as one of the most influential film-makers in the history of Indian cinema.

- Book Excerpt 

In retrospect, the free-flowing Rishi Kapoor frankness could have been reined in to chronological effect. That there is no established storyline ensures that the content doesn't come together cohesively to be a defining autobiography of our times, but it's easily the liveliest I have read recently.  

From tales of his great-grandfather the gruff baritone giant of a man, Prithviraj Kapoor, father -  mercurial, showstopper Raj Kapoor, the scandalous Nargis story addressed without any hesitancy or guile, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored is certainly one of a kind.   

More revelations, family photographs, hell lot of entertainment, this is a breezy read, simply told as it is, the late actor's spontaneity exuding in every page. The best moments are bare and raw, there is just too much to tell, and this clearly calls for a sequel, only that Kapoor is no longer around to tell it all. 

With Amitabh Bachchan in 102 Not Out (2018)

Good buy for Indian movie fans 

That there are no lingering moments is the book's greatest downer, the stories just rush through like a fast Mumbai local train, making for great popcorn-crunching reading, when it could have been so much more, an epic, sprawling account of arguably India's greatest film family.  

Despite the impulsive, speedy take, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored is a great read in innumerable bits and pieces, wickedly disarming, and recurrently entertaining.  

(Article by Snehith Kumbla)

Non-Fiction Reads: Ten Best Books: A Selection of Memorable Book Condensations from The Reader's Digest

My not-yet-battered secondhand copy 

The Reader's Digest monthly magazine editions from the early 1970's to the mid-1990's are a treasure trove of superlative, crisply edited, extremely engaging, relevant content. 

I have never been a fan of their condensed books editions though, especially the abridged novels, but this 1992 edition is classic RD for the amazing non-fiction collective of investigative, humourous, thrilling, biographical writing at its sincere, pristine best. Multiple, varied life shades make up this sharply selective anthology.

A revelatory tragic account of how it really is to be a spy, and that it is no James Bond seduction-happy romp, is made alarmingly evident in Henry Hurt's Shadrin: The Spy Who Never Came Back. 

Though reeking of making the Russians look bad again (perpetual villains in American movies, fiction, comic books, media), the sinking feeling of despair and remorse is hard-hitting as glaring truths begin to tumble out into view.

Similarly thrilling and constantly fascinating are To Catch a Killer by Nathan M. Adams, The Breaking of the Hungarian Circle by David Moller and Inside the Cocaine Wars by Nathan Adams. 

But my absolute favourite of the groovy investigative genre is Moonwebs: Journey into the Mind of a Cult by Josh Freed, rigorous investigative journalism that got me deep into the murky psyche of brainwashing and deception.

Gerald Durrell's uproariously funny My Family and Other Animals is editing at its edgy best. I possess the unabridged version, can only marvel at how the text has been condensed into 20-odd pages. 

The Lincoln Who Lives in Anecdote is a lovely reverse of the classic biography format in brief yet unforgettable text. Every anecdote has been carefully chosen for this edition, an example of why sometimes, 'less is more' makes for superlative, entertaining prose. 

But the most remarkable of the lot is the aura and constant fog-like mystery that Death and the Magician: The Mystery of Houdini by Richard Fitzsimons is shrouded in - riveting, baffling puzzles surrounding the life, death and alleged afterlife (boo, yes) of the revolutionary, pathbreaking early 20th century magician, Houdini.

My only grouch - why isn't there more of it, say, like a second volume? 

If you are a regular at second hand book sales, consider yourself lucky to find a copy of Ten Best Books: A Selection of Memorable Book Condensations from The Reader's Digest. 

They just don't tell stories like that, anymore.

(Article by Snehith Kumbla)

Graphic Novel Reads: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Richmond Lewis

The darker, edgier Batman origin story that inspired the superhero crossover from frivolous teenage stuff to grim adult themes, Frank Miller's Batman: Year One (1987) remains a kickass, gold standard graphic novel, an ultra-engaging retelling of Batman/Bruce Wayne's error prone, almost fatal first steps to becoming Gotham's vigilante no.1.

Miller sticks to the fabulous story and dialogues, lets David Mazzucchelli travel the classic comic book illustration road, while Richmond Lewis splashes textured, layered colouring.

Miller, against the tide

Miller had already made a name for DC Comics with the formula defying Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), featuring a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne returning from retirement to fight off mutants and Harvey Dent.

Already obliged by contract to work on a Batman origin revamp series, Miller makes the crucial decision to not illustrate, the elaborate Mazzucchelli drawings are now legendary, especially the Sergio Leone-like close profiles. This is more like a perfect tweaking of Batman's origins, relatedly-human, grimy, frizzling with big city blues.     

James Gordon, badass!

A modern parallel to Batman's first year on the job, is not exactly like Peter Parker's almost embarrassing teenage errors in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but is no smooth sailing either. 

Bruce Wayne's first crime-fighting attempt almost ends in disaster, leading to his arrest and a close call to exposing his secret identity.   

Apart from a wonderful Catwoman origin story, corrupt policemen, fiendish villains, my utmost favourite is James Gordon, the incorruptible, courageous policeman, who is not without his faults.

In fact, the compelling parallel monologues are of Wayne and Gordon, letting us see things from their perspective, their nature to do good and what they have to sacrifice to rid Gotham of crime.  

Miller gives Gordon a badass persona - vulnerable, noble, headstrong, and the daring of giving it back as good as he gets! By his protective air, Gordon can easily be mistaken for Batman-in-standing.

The breathtaking bridge climax is one among many stellar moments. The siege to worm out Batman, the spectacular action centerspread.

Realism rocks! 

The tragedy of living in corruption-ridden cities, greed, depression, paranoia, Gotham is a mirror to a world where laughter and carefreeness are mega casualties.

That Bruce Wayne is extremely vulnerable is neatly conveyed, causing instant audience connect with Batman's failures, frustrations and victories. 

This is no superpower-blasting, alien nemesis world, but a world we identify with, a world that is coming apart in chaos and crime, a world we live and breathe in every day.  

But for some illustrated wee bits that are not detailed, can't find many glitches in this telling, still awed on repeat reads, by the imaginative, sturdy storyboarding, crunchy realistic dialogues, melancholy setting, and almost pitch perfect characterization.

Definitive, iconic, Batman: Year One remains a pathbreaking classic that led to the gritty Christopher Nolan Batman movie trilogy.

(Article by Snehith Kumbla)

Non-Fiction Reads: The Lonely Tiger by Hugh Allen

If not for a friend's recommendation, wouldn't have known of The Lonely Tiger (1960). 

Out of print for more than 50 years before Rupa Publications (Rainlight) released the work in hardcover (2014), this episodic collection of true and thrilling wildlife encounter stories is an exceptional, evergreen page turner. 

Probably pushed to near-oblivion by the looming popularity of Jim Corbett's works, The Lonely Tiger is at multiple times a breathless, pulsating experience, dense with rare repeated calls of - What will happen next?

Once upon a time in central India...

All stories are set around Mandikhera, Madhya Pradesh. As life unfolded, Allen was discharged from the British Armed Forces during the Second World War due to a head wound. On the spur, Allen and his widowed sister Babs bought large tracts of land, and cultivated peanuts, barley, etc. at this central Indian village. 

Meanwhile, India gained independence and the siblings' friends went - For heaven's sake get out while you can.

In the preface, Allen admits he was a trigger-happy hunter, before remorse and guilt led him to take up the gun only to hunt man-eaters or creatures that destroyed his crops.

Homo sapiens, the most dangerous species...

What follows is an astonishing jungle trial of 14 stories, featuring amorous tigers, kill-crazy leopards, deadly wild boars, meandering bears, and the sole tiger that makes for the melancholic title story. 

In between, the human cruelty holds a horrific mirror to who we are, hammering our greed and will on wild animals, the ones crossing their path and not the other way around. Hunting was not yet illegal in India in the 1950's and almost anyone who owned a gun killed animals for pleasure. 

Nature lovers will be deeply disturbed by the descriptive accounts of casual killing. The Lonely Tiger is a constant reminder of what we have become as allegedly, the most advanced species on the planet.   

Thrill-a-minute 

Most man-eaters featured here are animals injured by bullet wounds, which made me side with the creatures immediately. 

Allen is clearly a gifted writer, builds a relentless stifling tension to a level that every sentence leads on to alarming blind turns. The sheer daring of it, to hunt for man-eaters in the dark on foot, cut through dense growth, be vulnerable to death every second, and thus invariably be alive to the moment...

Among the brilliant tales, Death in Sixty-Five Minutes particularly made my mouth dry with anticipation, The Odd Chance... turns out to be more lethal than anticipated, The Laughing Leopard is a stunning illustration of a leopard's killing expertise, expect the unexpected in The Three Bears, and The Tiger's Trap has the most hair-raising climax. 

For all reading seasons...

The Lonely Tiger is the only book Hugh Allen wrote, it is filled with the entire rich essence of his life at Mandikhera, gold-plated wildlife experiences like no other.

Even as we mutely watch more jungles make away to blankness, probably our false comforts, or temporary refuge then are works like The Lonely Tiger. It is the best non-fiction account I have read this decade, hard to beat in sheer reading experience, can't wait to devour its contents again, whole and raw.   

(Article by Snehith Kumbla)