Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema [Hardcover]

Ashish Rajadhyaksha (Editor), Paul Willemen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1999

The largest film industry in the world after Hollywood is celebrated in this updated and expanded edition of a now classic work of reference. Covering the full range of Indian film, this new revised edition of the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema includes vastly expanded coverage of mainstream productions from the 1970s to the 1990s and, for the first time, a comprehensive name index. Illustrated throughout, there is no comparable guide to the incredible vitality and diversity of historical and contemporary Indian film.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Indian motion-picture industry is one of the largest in the world; 23 million Indians go to the movies every day. Written by Rajadhyaksha (senior fellow, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore) and Willemen (critical studies, Napier Univ., Edinburgh), this is a one-stop reference book on Indian cinema. Encompassing films in the major Indian languages, this revised edition (originally published in 1994 and updated to 1995) contains entries on directors, stars, producers, writers, and composers and lists birth and death dates, background information, and filmography. A chronological listing of films from 1912 onwards--complete with cast, credits, and plot synopses--is also provided; and black-and-white photographs appear throughout. In addition, a time line chronicles major milestones in Indian cinema, and a chart displays film statistics on both sound and silent films. An extensive bibliography and a name and film index rounds the volume out. No collection on Indian film can afford to be without this book; highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries.
-Ravi Shenoy, Hinsdale P.L., IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

No collection on Indian film can afford to be without this book; highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries.
–Library Journal

Libraries with any interest in international film will want this helpful compendium.
–Choice

This new edition presents a comprehensive look at the riches of the world's largest industry.
–Booklist/RBB

A marvelous gift to the world of film scholarship..
–Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 658 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579581463
• ISBN-13: 978-1579581466
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,200,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Pop Culture

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a crucial resource, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (Paperback)

For both scholars and fans of Indian cinema, this revised and updated edition is a crucial resource: there's nothing else close to it for information on Indian film -- but it's also compulsively readable. I keep finding myself using it to check a fact, and then browsing through it as one entry leads to the next. I suspect the previous edition, only published in hardback, was out of the price range of many who would have appreciated it, but this very inexpensive paperback edition should allow the book to get into the hands of anyone who has an interest or passion for Indian cinema. The illustrations are great too!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World's Most Prolific Film Industry, May 13, 2000

By 

Amy Laly (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (Paperback)

Reviewed by Amy Dadichandji Laly, For Pacific Reader, An Asian Pacific North American Review of Books, Spring 2000

The Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen is perhaps the most exhaustive compendium of reference material compiled as a resource guide for film students and movie buffs around the world. Published by Oxford University Press, this ambitious book is produced in association with the National Film Archive of India and the British Film Institute.

The scope of the new revised edition includes a capsule chronicle of Indian history and milestones in the Indian film industry; impressive filmographies of major directors, actors, music composers, lyricists and scenarists; plot synopses of films; film and name indices; and a thorough bibliography on the history of Indian cinema.

From 28 films produced in 1931 to 948 in 1990 and 793 in 1995, India boasts the world's largest national film industry with dream factories in Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, churning out Urdu-Hindi Bollywood musicals and important regional art films. Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujerati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil and Telegu cinema is included in this paperback edition which covers a vast landscape from the birth of silent movies and talkies to mainstream productions and documentaries up to 1995.

Cinema is but another idiom of complex social, cultural, political, and historical influences especially in a country as diverse as India in its many regional languages, and ethnic and religious pluralism. The reader will find inspiring references to a number of art movements outside of the industry which informed filmmakers in their day. The entry on the Progressive Writers' Association, that brings into focus such stalwarts as Premchand, Ismat Chughtai, Ali Sardar Jafri, Krishan Chander, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Sadat Hasan Manto, among other luminaries, is especially invigorating. The Indian People's Theatre Association, Parsee Theatre, and political movements such as the Naxalite and Swadeshi, provide "elaborate cross-references to other, more directly, more cinematic entries."

The A to Z of this remarkable index of artistes starts with Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, a prodigious director and scenarist "mainly in the socialist-realist mode," to Zubeida, a real life princess, daughter of the Nawab of Sachin, who played the lead in "Alam Ara," India's first sound film released 14 March 1931. The Film index is chronological and starts with the release in 1912 of the 12 foot silent film "Pundalik" by P. R. Tipnis and N. G. Chitre, adapted from Ramrao Kirtikar's Marathi stage play about the Hindu saint. The last entry is a 158 minute megabudget Tamil musical, released in 1996 called "Kadhal Desum," written and directed by Kadir with Vineet, Abbas, and Tabu as lead players and music by A. R. Rehman. This is the only film entry for the year 1996.

The Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema is really a loving tribute to the amazing men and women who made the film industry the most prolific in the world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware of pub date!, September 27, 2009

By 

Douglas Gordy "musical theatre lover" (Walnut Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (Hardcover)

Although Amazon is listing the pub date as 2008, the 'new revised edition' actually came out in 1999 - and this edition ONLY covers movie titles up to 1995!! Although the book is quite thick (AND heavy) the type is rather small, and given that India produces over 900 films a year, this necessarily covers merely a fraction of the total output (synopses are of about 25 - 50 films each year), so there are some glaring omissions. That said, it is a fairly good and accurate resource for Indian films from 1910-'95, as well as biographical material on some of the heavyweights involved (the first 240 pages of the book). It is past time for an update...or perhaps even a second volume, covering 1995 to the present.