Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
the biography has proved to be one of the most successful literary genres of all time. And of all kinds of biographical books, the ones that are read
and that sell, the most are life stories of celebrities. So it comes as no surprise that the star biography is still
in great demand in the publishing world, and that established journalists and authors, along with major
publishers, are doing their utmost to keep the biography sections of bookstores well-stacked.
Dipa Chaudhuri, chief editor, Om Books International, talks about the popularity of this genre among today’s readers. “Stars worldwide connect to their
audience through their larger-than-life personae that may be distinct from their actual lives. A biography
or an autobiography allows the readers to partially understand the foundation of star mythologies,
and discover other half-truths about the subject,” explains Dipa.
She continues: “Most artfully written biographies avoid falling into the trap of overlapping biographies—of the biographer and the subject. A personal favourite is
Donald Spoto’s Marilyn Monroe: The Biography. And autobiographies could take a leaf from Confessions by Saint Augustine
So, the biography/autobiography of a star—from cinema, politics, sports or any other sphere of public life—is
not meant to be a ballad, hagiography or the record of a court chronicler. A living subject may or may not allow a scathingly honest account of his
or her life depending on the cultural moorings, but reliving and sometimes willingly revising and altering personal
histories could be a cathartic process. A star who has passed on provides the leeway for a speculative reconstruction of
his or her life without being around to either corroborate, challenge or censor the presentation. Much depends
on a biographer’s ability and willingness to provide multiple perspectives, and the subject’s willingness to be open to public scrutiny.”
Christina Daniels is the author of I’ll Do It My Way, a book about the “incredible journey” of the actor Aamir Khan, published by Om Books. Aside from being focused on
Khan’s life and work, the book is also an expression of Daniel’s own love for cinema. It is a kind of tribute to Hindi cinema
The other interesting thing is that the author hasn’t interacted with Khan for this book and yet she does justice to her subject by successfully bringing it alive on the page.
I’ll Do It My Way is a worldwide bestseller, and has recently been translated into Turkish. “This book reflects my
my concern that not enough is being done to document India’s cinematic history,” says Christina.
Award winning author Jerry Pinto, too, has written a biography of the yesteryear actress Helen. His book, Helen: The life and Times of an H-Bomb, was also written without any real interaction between the
author and the subject. “My book was not about Helen’s personal life. It was about her life as a screen icon,” says Pinto. “If she had agreed to talk to me, I am sure she would have given me a great deal of
anecdotes about filmmaking; this is what Hindi film stars do best. I love reading about how Raakhee ji made fish curry for the whole set and how
Rajesh Khanna put on a cap to cover his singed hair in a song. But that’s not what I am interested in writing about.
I am interested in the construction of identity. What is it that makes a hero? How does the soundtrack introduce him? What emotions are we expected to invest in him?”
The idea of writing about Helen was born when Jerry was having dinner with his publisher and editor Ravi Singh. “He said, ‘Who do