HOUSEFULL

Published in the year 2012, Housefull: The Golden Age Of Hindi Cinema is a collection of short essays that document some of the groundbreaking film releases during the 1950s and 60s.

Summary Of The Book

Housefull: The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema is a collection of short essays that provide insights into the best films in Hindi Cinema during the 1950s and 60s. This book starts off with a foreword by Mahesh Bhatt, followed by a brief introduction by Salam. The readers are provided with little-known facts on the lives of actors, directors, composers, lyricists, and producers during this golden age.

This book has been divided into 11 parts, most of which examine the lives of some of the greatest directors during the 50s and 60s, which include Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, B. R. Chopra, Shakti Samanta, Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan, V. Shantaram and the Anands. There is a rather incongruous portion placed between these sections, called Period Films (1952-1960). Each section starts off with a brief introduction by a renowned figure in the Hindi film industry, followed by a series of write-ups on films. Only landmark films by a particular director have been included. An example of this is Bimal Roy, whose hit movies such as Devdas, Madhumati, Sujata, Bandini, and Do Bigha Zameen have been added in this book.

Each essay begins with some brief information about the movie, such as the director, writers, lyricist, lead actors, and the cinematographer, which is followed by the movie’s synopsis. Additionally, the readers are given insights into how a particular movie came into being as well as behind-the-scenes stories sans any gossip. The writer of that particular section then gives their take on where the movie scores and what contributed to its success.

This book consists of contributions from some of the most renowned figures such as Vijay Lokapally, Anuj Kumar, and Suresh Kohli. This book takes the readers back in time, when the eminent Mangeshkar sisters sang together and the time Gulzar was prevented from singing his own song. Housefull: The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema helps the readers understand how Indian cinematic history has evolved from films such as Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay, to Tare Zameen Par and Lagaan.

About Ziya Us Salam

Ziya Us Salam is an author and journalist.

Salam is a film critic and renowned journalist. He currently serves as the Deputy Editor for The Hindu’s Metroplus. He has been writing about Indian cinema regularly, making his contributions to several anthologies.