Rishi Vohra’s HiFi in Bollywood: A Book Review

Hi, Folks,

It was a yet another normal day when Rishi Vohra pinged me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing his latest novel. I religiously checked the blurb and found it good. After a week or so, I got the book and it took me just 3-4 hours to finish this almost 250 pages book. Initially, the name kind of gave me an impression of a non-fiction based about Bollywood, but the blurb was promising me that I am in for a lovely fictional work.

I had a lovely author-signed copy, but then saw this in the author’s site! OMG! JOHN!!! ❤

Plot:

Rayhan Arora, a Punjabi, was sent to U.S to get his finance degree. His father, Romesh, is an authoritarian, who wants Rayhan to dance to his tunes. As fate would have it, Rayhan doesn’t like what his father dreams for him. Instead, he is passionate about film making. So, he ditches his to-be-fiancée (yes, he is forced by his father to get engaged with an Indian doctor, who lives in the US) and comes off to Mumbai without knowledge of his father.

With help of his friend, Shady, in Mumbai, and his cousin Jay in the US, he cleverly makes a foolproof plan to pursue his dreams without his father’s knowledge. However, film industry isn’t bed of roses. He has to handle a local don, Peter Bhai; his part-time, seductive maid, Mangala; her brawny fiancé, Anil; the gay director, Sajan; egoistic actor Jahaan Khan; and the mysterious colleague, Viola. While he tries to fix the various issues that come his way, he finds himself falling in love with Viola. The more he gets attracted to her, the more his problems surface up. The rest of the plot moves forward from here to end with a twist.

About the Author:

Rishi Vohra relocated back to Mumbai after completing a Green MBA from San Francisco State University and a Masters Diploma in Environmental Law, prior to which he had an extensive career in the Indian Entertainment Industry. HiFi in Bollywood is his second novel, after Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai. Visit him here: www.rishivohra.com

WOWS:

1. The narration is brilliant. The author takes you into the beauty of Berkely and the reality of Chuim Village with such ease. Each scene was sculpted in a pristine manner.
2. The story is strong and so is the screenplay, which is a rare combination these days.
3. The book was quite thrilling, with elements of humor, sarcasm, reality, romance, and melodrama sprinkled at places.

OOPS:

1. Proofread! There were a couple of errors missed on the proofread, I guess. Like ‘his’ instead of ‘her’, at a place. ‘Authoritative’ instead of ‘authoritarian’ in a place.

Stri’s take on the story:

The major twist of the story was predictable for me. But, usually I have this (un)fortunate capability of predicting stories halfway. So, I still guess the book is a decent enough thriller.

Bottom line:

A truly well-narrated story that is sculpted pristinely with a strong screenplay. A must read for Bollywood/ Indian fiction novel lovers.

Do I recommend?

Yes, a refreshing Indian novel, amidst the not-so-worthy ones, these days.

Rating:

4/5

 ~Love,

Stri

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