This book is an engaging diary of interviews by Bhawana Somaaya during her journey of decades as a film journalist.
I found the book higly intriguing and enjoyable because it gave me a peek into the minds of the stars I have grown up watching.
When we were growing up, there was no social media giving updates of stars every single hour as of today. Actors were mysterious and challenging to judge.
Whether it was the famous Amitabh Bachchan ban on the media or later the reticent Madhuri Dixit, stars were not so accessible then nor was there any information overload on them.
This book throws up many new things ….
Didn’t know Yash Chopra was a V Shantaram protégé.
Read for the first time about Sanjay Dutt’s desolation, his courage, his frustration, his hope in jail.
The chapter on Abhishek Bachchan interview was a glimpse into the reclusive Sr Bachchan’s life and mind.
And there was so much more. The book actually becomes a reflection of the film industry of the years which she has written about.
I closed the last page of the book overcome with a sense of nostalgia about my growing up years too.
In those days, we came to know the stars only through journalists. Unlike today, wherein the actors are the medium themselves, extremely eloquent of their lives and thoughts on their social media handles.
Bhawana Somaaya says, “I am privileged to have been around show business at a time when actors were vulnerable and admitted their anxieties, when cinema was more innocent and trust a treasure in all associations, when success and failures did not blemish personal and professional equations.” (https://www.peepingmoon.com/entertainment-news/news/60639/Bhawana-Somaaya-talks-about-her-book-On-Camera-Off-CameraPages-from-the-Past-.html
“On Camera Off Camera” brings back a feeling of those good old days when we went searching for information on actors we idolised. When we waited every month or every week for the film magazine to hit the stands for us to devour all we wanted to know.
Thanks Bhawana Somaaya for recreating those years once again for us. And for bringing alive the stories of the actors who were such legends.
Preeta Chag 