Romancing The 80s: Snapshots from A Cherished Decade by Seema Sethi is a captivating coffee table book that brings the vibrant memories of the 1980s to life. With a blend of striking visuals and thoughtful insights, the book captures the spirit of a decad🀅e that s🦂haped India's cultural, social, and political identity.
Film posters had so much pull, they almost
pushed you in. The title so big, it was a self-
proclaimed blockbuster.
Heroes and heroines plastered all over, there
was no room for half measures. Double meanings
were on. Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath
Mein from Dada Kondke was the flag-bearer.
Often movie titles and posters were wicked
enough to draw the under-18 crowd to halls.
Nothing p𒊎repared you for what𒈔 Amitabh Bachchan’s next release was
going to be. It was a ca🅠lling, an indulgence, a habit – to rush to the cinema
and watch his latest.
Songs and lightbulbs from Yaraana are still shining, as is ඣthe melodramatic
friendship between Bachchan and Amjad Khan.
AB’s filmography is🔯 one swerving, unpredictable ride down 🥂memory
lane. During the shooting of Coolie, this ride appeared to come
to a g🔯rinding halt. A serious injury to🐽 the superstar, the nation
joinedꦐ in prayer like nಌever before. But he returned, as did you
and I to the cinema.
A Bachchan release defied piracy and VHS. It was
what India cinema was meant to be, a great escapeও.
In a Bachchan film, cinema-goers would be po൩ssessed – hurling coins in
the air, at his entry or during a song. These coins would ca𝄹tch the lig💟ht
fromꦬ the projector. It was a sight to behold. As was the man.
Extracted with permission from the author and the publisher Romancing The 80s.
