If you are someone who can think of a Bollywood song for any situation at the drop of a hat then ‘Bollywood Odyssey’ might be the book you want to get your hands on. Written by Ajay Mankotia who describes himself as ‘the singing taxman’, the book is filled with anecdotes about some of Hindi cinema’s legendary music directors, singers and songs.
How did OP Nayyar ‘disrupt’ the Hindi film song? How did Usha Khanna give Rafi his confidence back ? What did Fyodor Dostoevsky have to do with Khayyam? Why can’t there be another Lata? Why did the classical titan Manna De sing comic songs? Why did Noor Jehan become better with age ? Why are there no break-up songs , popular till the 70s, prevalent these days ? Why do Judges quote songs in their orders?
Ajay Mankotia discusses all this and much more in his latest book 'Bollywood Odyssey', based on his lifelong passion for music , the musical background of his family, and his personal interaction with music directors.
Ajay Mankotia is a former revenue official, an author and a music aficionado.