Book Description

Dev Anand has long been known as the evergreen star of Hindi cinema. Navketan, the production company he started in 1949, is as perennial too. It has come to be known for stylish, contemporary films and some of the finest film music ever produced in India.But Navketan is more than just its films. It spans a crucial phase in the growth of the Indian film industry, from the early, post-independence phase of black and white films to the glorious, music-filled colourful cinema of the 1960s and '70s. It has been a training ground and school for many famous directors, producers, composers and technicians. It has also launched several actors who went on to become big stars in their own right. Some of the landmark films of Indian cinema have been produced by Navketan, from the noir classic Taxi Driver and the cultish Hare Rama Hare Krishna, to the all-time entertainer Jewel Thief and Guide, which features in every list of the ten best films ever made in India. The story of Navketan therefore is a parallel history of the Hindi film business and indeed a social history of India. By interviewing scores of people in front of and behind the camera, and after poring over archives and through old, faded cuttings, Sidharth Bhatia has put together a fascinating saga of the creative partnerships which spawned an organization that defined popular film-making for decades. Profusely illustrated with stunning photographs, stills from Navketan's films, publicity brochures and posters-some of them never seen before-Cinema Modern is a collector's edition for anyone interested in Indian cinema.