Well-loved stars and what they eat
SHONALI MUTHALALAY
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A celebration of the spirit and vibrancy of Bollywood paying homage to the sumptuous food India is famous for
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THE BOLLYWOOD COOKBOOK — The Glamorous World of the Stars and Over 75 of their Favourite Recipes: Bulbul Mankani; Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 31, Somnath Road, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad-380013.
Bollywood. It's about glitz and glamour. Rain-soaked saris and Swiss landscapes. It's about (drum roll) "loving your parents." And true love conquering all. Methi aloo and khatti dal.
Yes, dal and aloo too. It's impossible to overlook food in Bollywood. It underlines desi values, represents tradition and — most importantly — functions as a metaphor for love, romance and family ties. Think of the eternally palpitating maa stuffing her six-foot high son's mouth with samosas or the resolutely blushing bride refusing to let a morsel pass through her lips till her husband has eaten.
So, in many ways Bulbul Mankani's The Bollywood Cookbook manages a natural, spontaneous portrayal of the very core of Bollywood by talking about what the stars eat. Considering the fact that the Mumbai film industry has already been done to death by books, biographies, websites and magazines, all of which consistently put the same people under a microscope, gleefully reporting on everything from who they're dating, to what brand of moisturiser they use, this book achieves the seemingly impossible. It tells us things we do not know about them. For example, Amitabh Bachchan's craving for dal and chapatti leading him to hire a Gujarati cook during a stint in New York, or the fact that Shabana Azmi loves eggs so much that she ate egg burji and pao everyday for lunch for two years.
Family recipes
Unfortunately, the author doesn't seem to have enough confidence in the strength of her concept. So she wavers constantly between a temptation to be academic and intellectual about Bollywood, do the fanzine routine, and talk about Bollywood's food. Her introduction, for instance, talks of movie techniques, the political history of Bollywood and evolving film plots. Then, she seems to suddenly remember this is a book on food, and hurriedly mentions it in her very last paragraph. The book, as a result, is more of a confused kichdi than a grand seven-course meal, which it could so easily have been. This not only waters down the central idea, but also makes takes it into the dangerous territory of becoming "yet another book on Bollywood."
It's still an interesting read, if you overlook the clichés and ignore the tiresome repetition of well-known details about the stars. Because it's still based on a really good idea.
For fans of Bollywood, this shows the actors in a new light. The food they eat talks volumes about their roots, culture and traditions. A page on the actor precedes every set of recipes. These recipes come from their mothers, friends, friend's mothers, and - in some cases - fathers. (Very few of those ideal wives and hunky househusbands on screen actually cook in real life, from the looks of it.) In the case of Shah Rukh Khan, the recipe comes from the Taj Land's End, which doesn't feel quite right. Especially when you have the Bachchans sharing simple family recipes like steamed green gram or potatoes in pickle masala.
Variety
Not surprisingly, although there are some complicated recipes, most of the food is simple, healthy and very traditional to the states the actors hail from. That's an important strength of the book: its variety. Where else would a recipe such as Nandita Das's Oriya Pokhaalo, made of fermented rice find a place besides Rahul Bose's Bengali tomato chutney? Then there are the innovative family recipes: Paya from the Kapoors, spicy French beans from Shilpa Shetty. And finally pan-Indian favourites, such as a recipe for rajma from Preity Zinta, palak paneer from the Roshans and curd rice from Amrita Arora.
Food photographer Lisa Linder and food stylist Linda Tubby have evidently worked hard, and the pages are plastered with bright, beautiful pictures of food. The book is attractively laid out, interspersed with film posters from the past and glossy stills from recent movies.
Nandita Das, in this book says one of the best ways to unify the extremely diverse nation of India is by introducing different regional foods to people across the whole country. She believes food can be used as a medium of cultural empathy, to break boundaries. Bollywood's actors have already managed to soar above boundaries that politicians struggle with— social, religious, economic. This book might just be a step in the same direction, overcoming obstacles armed with just well loved actors, and their well loved foods.
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