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Author:Priyanka Sinha Jha
Publisher: Rupa
Price:195 INR
Pages:219
Year:2014
Source:review copy via Tales Pensieve
So many desi self-help books are available in the market these days.I have never been a person who looks forward to self-help books for motivation or life-style tips.But still,this book managed to catch my attention.I'm still not sure what made me take note of this book.Was it the colourful cover design or the 'filmi' background of this title which did the trick?Honestly,I don't know!Priyanka Jha's 'Supertraits of Superstars' cites examples of eleven superstars and focuses on one(or the most vital) of their many traits which she believes has helped them to become what they are today.
An actor's life is never easy.It's not as glossy or colourful as the layman thinks.After all,becoming succesful and not getting carried away by the success in a field where there is cut-throat competition is no mean achievement.I am a film-buff, right from my childhood days I have had great admiration for film stars and have no qualms in admitting that I admire them a lot.Priyanka lists interesting incidents and intelligent decisions which these eleven stars have made in their life which acted as turning-points in their career.The eleven virtues(or the superstars)which(whom) are discussed about in this book are discipline(big B),Passion(SRK),re-invention(Vidya Balan),pursuit of perfection(Amir Khan),perseverance(John Abraham),maximal focus(Ranbir),grace under pressure(ARB),overcoming the Achilles heel(Hrithik),diplomacy and tactic(Karan Johar),generosity(Salman Khan).
The good thing about Priyanka's work is that unlike the other inspirational/self-help books,at no point of time 'STS' tries it too hard to impress you or 'motivate' you with half a dozen advices.Infact Priyanka doesn't even make an attempt to tell you what to do or what not to do with your life.She just makes you ponder on the immense possibilities which life throws at you.Her casual approach and easy to read writing style ensures that the reader is not bored at any point of time.The book almost reads like a collection of page 3 articles with a motivational tinge.If you are a movie fanatic or big fan of these stars chances of you falling in love with this book is quite high! The book also gives insight into some of the lesser known aspect of these stars.
On the downside,I felt that a couple of factual errors have inadvertently crept in some of the stories.For instance,Priyanka remarks that Vidya Balan was dropped from more than a dozen Malayalam films(and a couple of Tamil ones) before she made it big in Bollywood.As far as I know she was considered un-lucky in the Malayalam film industry as her debut film(a multi-starrer movie named 'Chakram' with Mohanlal and Dileep playing the lead) and her second film (Mukesh starrer 'KalariVikraman') got shelved mid-way due to various reasons.She must have got dropped from a couple of other films(which were in the pre-production phase then),but the numbers were definitely less than half-a-dozen.Moreover in those days it was really difficult for a new comer to make a mark in Malayalam Cinema and a newbie signing more than half-a-dozen films before the release of his/her first film was un-heard of!Another drawback which i felt is that at places the book gives an impression that the writer is a die-hard fan of these eleven stars and as a result she has glorified each and every act of theirs without proper reasoning.Besides,the parts related to SRK's IPL franchise and his various business endeavours was too stretched.
Verdict-On the whole,this book may or may not make you feel good but what I can confidently say is that you will never feel bad for having spent your hard earned money for buying this work.I'm giving it a 3.5 on Five
The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on http://thetalespensieve.
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