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Synopsis Why does a film become a hit, an actor a superstar, an actress an icon? Is there a meaning behind the magic of make-believe? What does Devdas, Awara, Shadenshah, Khalnayak and Hindustani mean in popular parlance ? Do the Bollywood badshahs peddle mere dreams or ideologies, attitudes and ethics too? The Dream Merchants of Bollywood addresses such questions by viewing cinema as something more than a collage of moving images with a momentary appeal. The span is colossal : from Devdas to Dilwal Dulhaniya Le Yayenge. The icons stretch down the ages : from Guru Dutt to Amitabh Bachchan; Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit. The analysis includes the oeuvre of all the major directors of popular cinema : from Raj Kappor, Manmohan Desai, Yash Chopra to N. Chandra, David Dhawan and Sooraj Barjatya. A pioneering work that looks behind the glare of the silver screen, the book seeks to identify the hidden bonds between movies and the viewer’s mindset. All this in a style that is reminiscent of the movies themselves : racy, colourful and crisp.