Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (Revised Second Edition)

"This is a labour of love. There have been subsequent companions and other encyclopaedias, but both authors are substantial film scholars in their own right. It’s remarkably accurate and it’s an indispensable tool for scholars working in Indian film. There are also some interesting interpretive essays and it’s organised into films and people. I was greatly influenced by Rajadhyaksha when I was writing about cinema at a much earlier stage. Rajadhyaksha was one of the first people to take the ideas of Michel Foucault into the history of Indian film. Rajadhyaksha remains an important scholar. Pyaasa by Guru Dutt was made in the 1950s and it is one of the world’s great films and a personal favourite of mine. It’s an amazingly good film. From a latter period there is Bobby, which was directed by Raj Kapoor . It was a landmark film and in some respects it’s a remaking of Romeo and Juliet . It’s good fun and has all the ingredients of a Bollywood film – lots of action, romance, song and dance. More recently, there are films such as Namastey London , which I like to show my students because it so uniquely sets up the division between London and India, with the idea that you can take the girl out of India but you can’t take India of the film. It’s a nice, reassuring film."