The images were a brand manager’s happiest dream. A lone man, simple and ascetic looking, sitting quietly on the lawns of Rajghat, his eyes closed, seemingly meditating, lost to the world.

No one can accurately pin down the moment when the term Bollywood was first used. It is generally thought to have come into existence sometime in the late 1980s and then became voguish in the next decade or so. Nor can anyone agree on its definition. Some say it applies to the entire Hindi film industry, others say it is limited to the

By Anirudha Bhattacharjee & Balaji Vittal

Rs 399

It is indeed ironical that while Rahul Dev Burman’s music is enjoying a revival of sorts now, he was neglected, ignored and even ridiculed for much of his professional career. In the beginning of his journey as a musical director, RD was not taken seriously (his father was on top form at the time), and when he finally proved he was an original thinker, he was condemned for plagiarism.

Pyaasa, universally acknowledged as Guru Dutt’s masterpiece, is not just a great film. It is a cri de couer of a poet, an artist, a citizen. Coming a decade or so after Independence, it reflected the angst of the sensitive Indian who saw the hopes and dreams of an entire generation being frittered away. In the story of a man who is cast away by a cruel and cynical society after being used, there is an allegory of a nation which has been taken over by powerbrokers who care two hoots for the weak, the poor.