New anthology explores Hindi cinema's 1970s golden age and its cultural impact

A new book titled 'Swinging ’70s: Stars, Style and Substance in Hindi Cinema' examines the influential decade of Hindi cinema, edited by Nirupama Kotru and Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri and published by Om Books International. The 1970s saw landmark films like Sholay (1975) and the rise of megastar Amitabh Bachchan, alongside arthouse figures such as directors Mani Kaul and Shyam Benegal and actors Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi. This period coincided with India's post-independence disillusionment, including the Emergency (1975–77), transitioning from 1950s-60s nation-building to 1980s regional militancy. The anthology's essays, by contributors like critic Bobby Sing, writer Jai Arjun Singh, actor Rajat Kapoor, film critic Nandini Ramnath, journalist Sathya Saran, and writer Balaji Vittal, cover themes from the audio-cassette revolution to female archetypes and antiheroes. Hindi cinema, often called Bollywood though some insiders reject the term, profoundly shapes Indian behavior, fashion, and morality, with tropes like the 'angry young man' and masala entertainers remaining cultural references. The book includes trivia quizzes and analytical profiles, aiming to appeal to both casual enthusiasts and serious students, and hopes to inspire documentation of later decades. Priced at Rs 695 in softcover, it argues that no population is as cinema-influenced as Indians, impacting global desi trends and billion-dollar industries.