THE DREAM FACTORY BY SUJATHA ( TRANSALATED BY MADHAVAN NARAYANAN)

-

This book writes about different people belonging to the Tamil film industry in the 1980s. The patriarchal narcissistic hero, Arun, the star who is at the peak of his career. Even though he is self absorbed, he is under the constant pressure to perform better everyday to maintain his graph.

There is Kalyani, the childhood love interest of Arun who gets to bear the results of Arun’s persuasive behaviour.

Premlatha, the young mediocre actress, facing the same age old problem of career vs marriage battle. She comes as arrogant in the beginning and later turns out to be the only sensible character in the book.

There are other characters like Bhaskar - Arun’s manager, Arumai Rajan - the aspiring singer and Manonmani - a struggling small time actress, trying to make her place in the Kollywood.




PROS: The cultural appropriation was perfect. With the dialogues in the local slang, the mention about the famous songs and movies at that time, the book exactly paints a picture of Madras in the 80s.

A must read book for every cinephile.

The struggles of being a successful actor/ actress is depicted perfectly.

It speaks of the evil side of the industry, the struggles of being a small time actor and the price to pay for someone to enter Kollywood.


CONS: The extreme patriarchy and the man child behaviour of the male characters became extremely annoying at one point.

I did not like how women easily withstood discrimination and domestic abuse and even accepted that it was because of their own fault.

But understanding that the book is set in the 1980s, it was possibly the depiction of reality in that time period.

A few serious editing errors which put me off.

So much description about almost every other female characters’ bust and body. I mean like women are meant to have them. Is it necessary to describe it in every other chapter?


MY REVIEW: 3.5/5

If you have loved Sujatha’s Books in the past and if you are cinephile, then this is your next read.

I am taking part in BlogChatter's #TBRChallenge

#penbooksandscalpel

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHAPTER 1 - ALIZA AND AHMED

-
Image
Their eyes met for the second time in the day. Every time this happens, Aliza feels a ticklish sensation in her stomach. It's not that they have not been closer than just eye contact, but the jitters won't leave her alone. Her mother-in-law was busy scooping out the last few morsels of chicken from the bowl with a creaking noise that numbed Aliza's ears. Her father-in-law was lost in thoughts enjoying his chicken malai korma and tempered ghee rice.   ‘Aliza, can you get me some warm water?’ Aliza comes running with a jar of water to fulfil her new wife's duties, and Ahmed finds his moment just when Aliza is filling his tumbler and his parents are busy eating. He pokes her in the hip, which is faintly visible between her saree fold and her blouse. Aliza winces and moves behind quickly. She turns around to ensure no one has witnessed it and promptly returns to work, flashing a smile. Ahmed had to steal moments like these between daily activities because the house was alwa...
Read more

CHAPTER 4 - DISTANCE MATTERS

-
Image
'Congratulations on your promotion and transfer. We are looking forward to your full commitment to us. Do get back to this letter at the earliest with your answer.' Read the crafted piece of paper. Ahmed's parents were delighted and jumping with joy. They were chanting 'Alhamdulillah' fervently while Aliza stood confused. She could not make anything of this news because Ahmed's promotion meant everything to her. But his transfer would only mean that Aliza must stay back with her in-laws while he would visit only during weekends. She would happily do so, too, if not for her unsupportive mother-in-law. Aliza wanted to cry, and her eyes brimmed with tears that the world looked like a smudged canvas laying still in front of her. She looked at Ahmed pleadingly and waited until 10 to ask him if he really wanted to go. Asking in front of her in-laws would only mean the end of her good days. Ahmed did not look up because he knew what his transfer meant for both of them....
Read more

CHAPTER 2 - THE BACKSTORY - ALIZA

-
Image
  Aliza is the middle child of her family, with two older siblings and two younger ones. She did not always get her parents' attention because the oldest or the youngest sibling often stole it. She was mostly brought up by her oldest sister, Razia, who made sure she bathed, ate, and went to school on time. After Razia's marriage, her next older sibling Fahim brought home his wife, who had sworn to taunt Aliza all her life. Her younger twin siblings Samir and Ameera were at school, and they often stayed outdoors playing. So Aliza grew up to be the one taking care of her siblings while also managing to thrive herself. After finishing high school, she wanted to join college because her friends were also planning to, and they said studying in college will help a lot in the future. She was also the captain of her school's volleyball team and was a tough player. Aliza thought she could pursue her ambitions after school if she managed to convince her father. But her relatives had ...
Read more