In the opening chapter of Mumbai Fables,Gyan Prakash gives enough indication of his love and longing for Bombay. Though born in Hazaribagh and brought up in Patna and Delhi,the author confesses to having hungered for the city in his childhood. Such a desire for this mythic city was largely fuelled by Hindi films. Much later,this metamorphosed into the driving force that sustained his eight years of research on all the allures,glamours,scandals and myths that the city holds. This research resulted in Mumbai Fables,an engrossing work of non-fiction published by HarperCollins India. Since the book has now been launched,its natural to assume that Prakash obsession with the city might have subsided. The author,however,dismisses any such possibility. For,coming up next is Bombay Velvet,a thriller high on retro noir and set in 1960s Bombay. Prakash is currently writing its script. The film will be directed by Anurag Kashyap and is likely to be produced by Danny Boyle. Bombay Velvet grew out of my research for the book, says the author,who first met Kashyap nearly a year-and-a-half ago. Also in the pipeline is a graphic novel based in the city. In Mumbai Fables,the author refers to the city as Bombay,as the city was known till 1995 and covers the period before that with a focus on exploring its mythical inner life. But this was not an easy task. Prakash had to browse through issues of Mumbais tabloids and dailies over the decades. I went through all the issues of Blitz from 40s to mid-80s. I found them in micro-films in Chicago and London libraries. Reading them was very tedious, he says. The influence of tabloid culture is palpable in the book. I wanted to look into the citys history as told by tabloids. Just like them,my intention was to ferret out what lies beneath the reality, he says,as we take a walk on the Marine Drive promenade. Marine Drive happens to be one of his favourite places for its expansive view of the metropolis. He stops for chana jor garamone of his favourite street foods in Mumbai. I love all kinds of street food here. I have never faced any health problems after eating them, says the professor of History at Princeton University. So strong was his love for everything that the city embodies that he bought a flat in Bandra in 2007 so that he could live here when he took a one-year sabbatical from teaching to write the book. Most people know Mumbai through its photographs. Prakash too was interested in the various images of the city circulated through them. As a result,Mario Mirandas Bombay,Atul Dodiyas self-portrait called Bombay Buccaneer and even pages of Raj Comics Doga,the superhero who protects the city,find place in the book. Despite that,Prakash restricts it to less than 400 pages. The first draft was 150 pages longer. But I wanted to cut it down as readers dont have patience for lengthy pieces. I made the stories more compact, he says. Irrespective of the citys multiple images,the one facet that dominates is Hindi cinema. It is hard to think of Mumbai without cinema. You cant disassociate the city from the glitter of Hindi cinema or vice-versa, he says,explaining this mutual relationship. Though drawn to Hindi cinema and ready to make his Bollywood debut soon,he is also aware of its unreliable nature. I enjoy whatI do and I am not looking for a second career in films, he says.
