Interview: Anupama Chopra, Author of King Of Bollywood - SRK and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema

August 04, 2007
Rajen Nair

Anupama Chopra is a well known film critic of the Hindi film industry and is the wife of the well known Hindi film producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The literary talent runs in the family as her brother Vikram Chandra is a famous international writer. Her second book was a monograph on DDLJ which was well received in the literary world. Anupama Chopra’s about to be launched book titled King of Bollywood - Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema is a sort of biography of Shah Rukh Khan and also touches on the intricate aspects of Hindi cinema.

The book traces his middle class upbringing from a relatively unknown locality of Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, the loss of his father and his family struggle to make a living, his joining the Theater Action Group, where his acting skills were fine-tuned by his then mentor Barry John, his early struggle in Mumbai to gain a foothold in Bollywood and finally his meteoric rise to become the King Khan of the Hindi film industry. It also touches on his personal life of his love affair with Gauri, his wife and then the explosive disclosure of his encounter with the underworld. It is a must read book for the diehard fans of Shah Rukh Khan and for those interested in knowing the history of Bollywood.
  
Q- What made you take up this project of writing about SRK and seductive World of Indian cinema?
  
Ans- My second book was a monograph on DDLJ done for the British Film Institute. While writing that I became fascinated with Shah Rukh's story, his very dramatic rise to fame and also his connect with a Post-liberalized country. That led me to write this book.
  
Q- The book though mentions seductive world of Indian cinema, there is hardly any material on this aspect.
  
Ans- Actually, there are lots on the subject. There are entire chapters like Brand SRK which deal with the evolution of Bollywood and how it became Corporate. And as you point out yourself in the next question, there is a full history of Bollywood.
  
Q- Why not make it an exclusive biography of SRK instead of mixing it with history of Bollywood film industry. Was it because there was less material on SRK
  
Ans- No there is lots of material on SRK. I always wanted this book to be a look at popular Hindi cinema through the life and films of Shah Rukh Khan. That was the intent when we started.
  
Q- Every one knows that SRK is the hottest selling star globally so was it Intentional of chipping in SRK to get more mileage for your book.
  
Ans- I don't think too many people write books hoping to get rich off it. I think SRK is the face of a new, shining India and a new, shining Bollywood and that's what the book is about.
  
Q- How do you define the book? A biography of SRK or history of Bollywood.
    
Ans- It's both.
    
Q- This book was mainly written keeping in mind the Indian audience living abroad. Do you think the book would be more saleable abroad then here in India?
   
Ans- The book was not written exclusively for an NRI audience. It's written for anyone interested in India and Indian cinema. It's being translated into Marathi, Hindi and German. I'm sure those publishers wouldn't be putting money into it if they thought it was done only for a non-resident Indian market.
   
Q- There is not much revelation in the book about SRK personal life except for his love story with Gouri and his disclosure of receiving threat call from the underworld. I mean there wasn't any thing sensational about SRK or the film industry to write about or you think SRK was not so candid or forthcoming in his interviews you had with him.
  
Ans- I think SRK was extremely generous with both his time and his emotions. This book I wanted to write. My line of investigation was not to find anything sensational. I wanted to make my book informative and interesting. I'm not driven by gossip and scandal.
    
Q- What is the message you want to send through your book to the readers.
   
Ans- There is no message as such. The book is a look at a superstar, a film industry and a country. I hope it gives readers some insights into all three.
  
Q- What you think is the USP of the book
   
Ans- I think the USP is that it traces the evolution of a man, a cinema and a country.
   
Q- There is no mention of any rivalry between Amitabh Bachchan and SRK in your book.
  
Ans- As I said before, I'm not interested in gossip. I don't think it fit into the format of my book.
   
Q- Also there is hardly mention of SRK co-star Kajol or others except for some fleeting reference.
  
Ans- This was the story I wanted to tell. I selected a few watershed films in his life and used those as a reference point to tell other stories.

Q-Was it your brother Vikram Chandra a well known author or your husband the film producer who inspired you to write this book?
  
Ans- No. Both were extremely supportive of the project but as I said earlier the inspiration was my own second book on DDLJ.
  
Q-What was SRK contribution in motivating you to write this book?
  
Ans-He was very helpful and generous with his time. He was very patient with my incessant badgering. I couldn't have asked for more.
   
Q- Have you posed any personal controversial question to SRK which he refused to divulge?
  
Ans- No, he answered everything.
  
Q-Are you happy with the way the book had shaped up?
  
Ans- Yes.
   
Q-One gets a feeling the book is all about goody goody things in Bollywood, so like a typical Hindi films it has a happy ending.
  
Ans- Well, it's about Bollywood so that's appropriate, isn't it.