Beyond the Dream Girl
December 1st, 2017
Padma Shri, Hema Malini the beautiful actress, Member of the Indian Parliament, Classical dancer and producer of films was in Dubai as part of the ongoing book release of her book BEYOND THE DREAM GIRL authored by well-known film journalist Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
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Here are excerpts of the conversation with Hema Malini, Celebrity invitee Celina Jaitley and Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
As the third book being written on Hema Malini did you find it difficult to select an apt topic for the same and what was the strategy that you devised to make it more interesting?
RKM: After writing the Coffee Table book on Hema Malini in 2005, I felt that the book didn't reach to a lot of readers because of its pricing. I wanted people to know her story, and something which I felt was not being written ever. Though I personally feel that Bhawana Somaya's book on Hema Malini had many accedotes and incidents, it was a biography from Hemaji’s perspective. I wanted a book that would have more than one perspective. This would make it for an interesting read. I approached Shantanu Roy Choudhuri from Harper Collins India, and he showed interest in doing this book. That's how the journey started.
As a writer in conjunction with the publishing house and liaising with a mega celebrity like Hema Malini did you ever come at a cross road for the next step to get the book writing rolling?
RKM: Getting a publisher on board was the toughest job in today's time. That too someone as famous as Harper Collins; it was unexpected. After releasing my first fiction Long Island Iced Tea, with Leadstart Publishing, I had approached them for the biography. But they were extremely helpful in guiding me towards Harper Collins, saying that they don't do Bollywood biographies and you need a very good publisher with strong distribution network to do a mammoth project like "Hema Malini". Thereafter the toughest task was to convince Hemaji, and I think she has mentioned in her interview about how I convinced her to be a part of this book.
How frank and open were the family members of Hema Malini in sharing her inner persona? Does she have aspirations even now, does she idolise any body apart from her mother and well known dancers and actors?
RKM: Her family was extremely helpful. I would like to thank her sister-in-law Prabha Chakravarthi for all the help. She was my first check post for all facts and narrative. I had support from Esha and Ahana who were extremely forthcoming in telling their stories, which added a completely different dimension to this book. I spoke to her colleagues and directors. I am grateful to Magna Publishing for letting me use interviews from their archive, to make it more interesting.
Did you feel that the book Beyond the Dream girl would be a commercial hit considering that the earlier coffee book on her received lukewarm response?
RKM: I would like to correct you that the coffee table book garnered very good response from media and the Bollywood fraternity. It still remains the only coffee table book on any Indian actress. Yes, as mentioned earlier that due to the pricing issue, it didn't reach out to as many number of people it should have reached. But with Beyond The Dream Girl, this won't be the case. The pricing and distribution of the book is at an international standard. The marketing spend on the book has been phenomenal and the kind of response that we are getting, is completely unheard of. I hope this becomes a best seller!
How do you feel about your third book and what did you see in Ram Mukherjee that made you agree to do the biography?
HM: Ram Kamal is like a family member. But when he wanted to write another book on me, I totally rejected the idea thinking that what else would someone write about me? I already had two books, of which one was a coffee table book written by Ram Kamal and the other one was by Bhawana Somayaa. But when Ram mentioned that this book will be Beyond 'Hema Malini' I was curious. Then he explained to me that he has observed certain things over the years which he wants to pen down. Finally, I agreed to be a part of his vision and I am very happy with the final result.
As a doting parent to your beautiful daughters what would be your advice for the current generation of parents and elders on parenting?
HM: Don't impose your thoughts on your daughters or sons. Let them see you, let them judge what is good and bad for them. You must act as a friend, philosopher and guide. I think every generation thinks differently, and now things are changing totally. What happened in my generation cannot be the same with Esha or Radhya's generation.
As a multifaceted personality what remains your first love and how do you see the cultural scene in India and abroad?
HM: I think Indian culture is very rich and there is a lot more scope to do with Indian art, dance, and music. I keep inspiring budding talents from various parts of the world. I launched Jaya Smriti in Mumbai, in memory of my mother Jaya Chakravarthy to promote young talents from the field of art and music. This year we took a leap and made jaya Smriti international with our Indo Georgian dance ballet Synergy. I was very impressed with younger dancers who performed at Sharjah and Dubai before the book launch event. This shows that how much people staying away from their country care for their own art and culture. I would love to do as much as possible to promote Indian classical dance and music.
As a part of being a close confidante of ESHA Deol and seeing Hema Malini at close quarters what are your impressions of her and what have you learnt from Hema Malini in the areas of acting and parenting?
CJ: This was my first public appearance since my second pregnancy. I agreed to be a part of this book launch for three reasons. Firstly I am a book lover and I have a book club that promotes young authors from India and abroad. Secondly, I respect Hemaji because she is my friend Esha's mother and she is an epitome of grace and dignity. It was my privilege to be a part of her biography launch at the Indian Consulate auditorium. Last but not the least, my association with Ram Kamal goes long back. We know each other since last 15 years. He is a prolific writer and I have loved his book Long Island Iced Tea also. I am sure Beyond The Dream Girl will be equally good, if not better.
These were part of the Question-Answer session conducted by Jyoti Easwaran for TeleLIFE as part of the book release done by the Honourable Consul General Shri Vipul held at the Indian Consulate Dubai on November 8.As the third book being written on Hema Malini did you find it difficult to select an apt topic for the same and what was the strategy that you devised to make it more interesting?
RKM: After writing the Coffee Table book on Hema Malini in 2005, I felt that the book didn't reach to a lot of readers because of its pricing. I wanted people to know her story, and something which I felt was not being written ever. Though I personally feel that Bhawana Somaya's book on Hema Malini had many accedotes and incidents, it was a biography from Hemaji’s perspective. I wanted a book that would have more than one perspective. This would make it for an interesting read. I approached Shantanu Roy Choudhuri from Harper Collins India, and he showed interest in doing this book. That's how the journey started.
As a writer in conjunction with the publishing house and liaising with a mega celebrity like Hema Malini did you ever come at a cross road for the next step to get the book writing rolling?
RKM: Getting a publisher on board was the toughest job in today's time. That too someone as famous as Harper Collins; it was unexpected. After releasing my first fiction Long Island Iced Tea, with Leadstart Publishing, I had approached them for the biography. But they were extremely helpful in guiding me towards Harper Collins, saying that they don't do Bollywood biographies and you need a very good publisher with strong distribution network to do a mammoth project like "Hema Malini". Thereafter the toughest task was to convince Hemaji, and I think she has mentioned in her interview about how I convinced her to be a part of this book.
How frank and open were the family members of Hema Malini in sharing her inner persona? Does she have aspirations even now, does she idolise any body apart from her mother and well known dancers and actors?
RKM: Her family was extremely helpful. I would like to thank her sister-in-law Prabha Chakravarthi for all the help. She was my first check post for all facts and narrative. I had support from Esha and Ahana who were extremely forthcoming in telling their stories, which added a completely different dimension to this book. I spoke to her colleagues and directors. I am grateful to Magna Publishing for letting me use interviews from their archive, to make it more interesting.
Did you feel that the book Beyond the Dream girl would be a commercial hit considering that the earlier coffee book on her received lukewarm response?
RKM: I would like to correct you that the coffee table book garnered very good response from media and the Bollywood fraternity. It still remains the only coffee table book on any Indian actress. Yes, as mentioned earlier that due to the pricing issue, it didn't reach out to as many number of people it should have reached. But with Beyond The Dream Girl, this won't be the case. The pricing and distribution of the book is at an international standard. The marketing spend on the book has been phenomenal and the kind of response that we are getting, is completely unheard of. I hope this becomes a best seller!
How do you feel about your third book and what did you see in Ram Mukherjee that made you agree to do the biography?
HM: Ram Kamal is like a family member. But when he wanted to write another book on me, I totally rejected the idea thinking that what else would someone write about me? I already had two books, of which one was a coffee table book written by Ram Kamal and the other one was by Bhawana Somayaa. But when Ram mentioned that this book will be Beyond 'Hema Malini' I was curious. Then he explained to me that he has observed certain things over the years which he wants to pen down. Finally, I agreed to be a part of his vision and I am very happy with the final result.
As a doting parent to your beautiful daughters what would be your advice for the current generation of parents and elders on parenting?
HM: Don't impose your thoughts on your daughters or sons. Let them see you, let them judge what is good and bad for them. You must act as a friend, philosopher and guide. I think every generation thinks differently, and now things are changing totally. What happened in my generation cannot be the same with Esha or Radhya's generation.
As a multifaceted personality what remains your first love and how do you see the cultural scene in India and abroad?
HM: I think Indian culture is very rich and there is a lot more scope to do with Indian art, dance, and music. I keep inspiring budding talents from various parts of the world. I launched Jaya Smriti in Mumbai, in memory of my mother Jaya Chakravarthy to promote young talents from the field of art and music. This year we took a leap and made jaya Smriti international with our Indo Georgian dance ballet Synergy. I was very impressed with younger dancers who performed at Sharjah and Dubai before the book launch event. This shows that how much people staying away from their country care for their own art and culture. I would love to do as much as possible to promote Indian classical dance and music.
As a part of being a close confidante of ESHA Deol and seeing Hema Malini at close quarters what are your impressions of her and what have you learnt from Hema Malini in the areas of acting and parenting?
CJ: This was my first public appearance since my second pregnancy. I agreed to be a part of this book launch for three reasons. Firstly I am a book lover and I have a book club that promotes young authors from India and abroad. Secondly, I respect Hemaji because she is my friend Esha's mother and she is an epitome of grace and dignity. It was my privilege to be a part of her biography launch at the Indian Consulate auditorium. Last but not the least, my association with Ram Kamal goes long back. We know each other since last 15 years. He is a prolific writer and I have loved his book Long Island Iced Tea also. I am sure Beyond The Dream Girl will be equally good, if not better.
These were part of the Question-Answer session conducted by Jyoti Easwaran for TeleLIFE as part of the book release done by the Honourable Consul General Shri Vipul held at the Indian Consulate Dubai on November 8.