AB : The Legend : A Photographer's Tribute by Pradeep Chandra. New Delhi, Rupa, 2006, 208 pages
Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. The early days. 2. The struggle. 3. The angry young man. 4. A search for identity. 5. The return of the king. 6. Still here.
Guest Columns: 1. Pritish Nandy. 2. Rauf Ahmed. 3. T.R. Gopaalakrishnan. 4. Govind Nihalani. 5. Srinivas Hebbar. 6. Shobhaa De. Notes. Captions. Acknowledgments.
"Angry young man. Big B. Superstar. Icon. The epithets are many for Amitabh Bachchan -- the man who has captured and held the imagination of Indians for several decades now. And yet, what could be more appropriate, more fitting for who he is and what he is than 'Legend'. Bachchan was the undisputed king of Bollywood for years -- at one point of time, eight of his films were celebrating their silver jubilees simultaneously. Then came his fall from grace in the early nineties. But Bachchan found his way back soon enough. Today, he's back to where he was and more, he had five hits in 2005, is the host of a hugely successful game show, and is one of the most sought after brand ambassadors in India.
AB : The Legend is Pradeep Chandra's tribute to the actor and the man. Chandra follows Bachchan's career, giving us rare glimpses of him as a student, actor, family man, businessman and politician through interesting anecdotes and incidents. As a photographer who has captured Bachchan from his early days in cinema, Chandra has included exquisite stills from films, photographs, collages and artworks that encapsulate Bachchan's charisma and intensity.
Pritish Nandy, who has written the foreword, and guest writers Sobhaa De, Govind Nihalani, Rauf Ahmed, T.R. Gopaalakrishnan and Srinivas Hebbar, have contributed to making this book a unique biography of the legend." (jacket)
