I came to this book having surface level knowledge of Bollywood - just one of the reasons why I requested this one. Carefully interwoven in this history of Bollywood, are Sunny Singh's own personal memories, making this wonderfully immersive, thoughtful and engaging. I absolutely adored it!

Sunny Singh’s book is part cultural commentary, part memoir, and part analysis of the world’s largest film industry, and thank god for the former two because the analysis is quite dully described. At no point did I find myself even remotely interested in the elements that make up a cinema I have grown up consuming, so whenever Singh goes back to a film from her childhood, or describes an experience from the vacations she made back home, the book becomes instantly more interesting and also serves as a text through which the evolution of Hindi cinema comes across.

From the very first page I was enamoured by A Bollywood State of Mind. It's richly evocative descriptions brought on waves of nostalgia as I was transported back to key moments in my married life where my husband and I watched some of the mentioned films together.
As well as being an impassioned description of the Bollywood film industry, past present and future, A Bollywood State of Mind is also an artfully written narrative which contextualises the political, cultural and economic influences on the industry through the eyes of the author growing up. Insights into historic events through the eye of the author and her family lend a poignant and additional layer to this excellent read.

Thoroughly enjoyable, very informative and delivered with humanity, hope, understanding and appreciation of an often underrated, yet very complex art form.
I felt privileged to read this.
Thank you

Stunning. A Book that will make you want to go to the nearest cinema and ask them to put on a showing of OM SHANTI OM!

The ULTIMATE Bollywood book. A whirlwind tour of the past and present of a fascinating industry. As dazzling as it is insightful, it covers everything from the building of Bollywood and its stars to the historical context in which these films and icons have flourished and found a following all over the world. Seeing this world through Sunny Singh's eyes is something else - stories and observations from her childhood, her travels, and her very international life are woven throughout the book. It's like sitting with a friend all night because you don't want to stop listening to what they have to say. A brilliant, brilliant book in every way.