The Hindu : New Delhi News : The making of a legend

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Thursday, Jan 01, 2009
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The making of a legend

Madhur Tankha

A new book documents the phenomenon called Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

NEW DELHI: Fans of Big B can look forward to another book on one of the greatest personalities of Indian cinema. Seasoned journalist Bhawana Somaaya and Osian’s Centre for Archiving, Research and Development are co-authors of the new book titled “Bachchanalia: The Films and Memorabilia of Amitabh Bachchan”.

Billed as a collector’s item, the book is a documentation of the mega-star’s filmography illustrated through rare and exclusive film posters and publicity material from Osian’s Archive and Library Collection. The book is aimed at amalgamating text with images to create a “cultural infrastructure”.

Recipient of several prestigious awards, Bhawana Somaaya has been a longstanding editor of Screen. The seeds of this latest book on the superstar were sown by Bhawana in the publication “Amitabh: Now and Forever” in 2001.

With the partnership of Osian’s CARD as the source of new imagery, narratives, archival knowledge, production and design values, the book offers a complete cinematic journey through the publicity material stretching over 40 years, from the days of hand-painted posters to digitally doctored photographic montages now. It is the first publication after the announcement by Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art to launch a full-fledged publishing and design house.

Says Osian’s founder-Chairman Neville Tuli: “Nine years for one small step. After publishing over 50 quality books building the base, Osian’s now feels ready to launch a publishing and design house for the external world.”

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