NEW YORK (TIP): Prof. Indrajit Saluja, Chief Editor / Publisher, The Indian Panorama and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tirlok Malik congratulated noted Indian critic Ajit Rai for his groundbreaking book ‘Hindujas and Bollywood,’ about the evolution of Bollywood and the role that the Hinduja brothers played in making it a global brand, which was recently launched in London by the Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar.Prof. Indrajit Saluja and Tirlok Malik also congratulated renowned Indian film critic Murtaza Ali Khan who has translated Ajit Rai’s book into English. Akshay, who was last seen in ‘Samrat Prithviraj’ has several films in the pipeline including ‘Raksha Bandhan,’ which is slated to hit the screens on August 11, was the chief guest at the book launch event organized at the Institute of Directors in Pal Mall, London.

‘Hindujas and Bollywood’ recounts the untold story of the ubiquitous popularity of Hindi classics like ‘Awaara,’ ‘Sholay,’ ‘Guide,’ ‘Sangam,’ etc. Today, Bollywood is widely recognized as a global brand and it’s almost synonymous with India in the global arena. But not many people know that around seven decades ago, the Hinduja brothers started this global journey of Hindi films long before the moniker ‘Bollywood’ got attached to the Hindi film industry. That they helped produce countless films long before NFDC came into being and long before banks started lending money to the film producers. Sharing his thoughts about Ajit Rai’s pathbreaking book, Murtaza Ali Khan said, “I am eternally grateful to Ajit Rai for trusting me with the responsibility to translate such as important and scholarly work of cinema history into the English language. In my decade and a half long career as a film journalist, I have seldom read something as riveting, compelling, and eye-opening written about Indian cinema. And, it is nothing less than a masterclass in film history. I hope the readers of this book will be able to gain some valuable insights about how Bollywood first started emerging as a global brand, a journey that began in Iran almost seven decades back.”

‘Hindujas and Bollywood’ is now available on Amazon for online booking.