This supplement had, a few months back, carried a comprehensive story on the titles penned on Bollywood stars and musicians, some of which, like And Then One Day by Naseeruddin Shah were autobiographies of the celebrities while the likes of Ten Years With Guru Dutt by Sathya Saran and Rajesh Khanna, The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar by Yasser Usman have been fabulous writings of critics and cinema scholars, who travel beyond the camera and bring to light the best and worst of the on-screen playground. However, the life of some of the most dynamic personalities from our silver screen is yet to be penned. Months later, there is a relief for the lovers of cinema as two unarguably superbly written books on two of the most vigorous Bollywood personalities have hit the stands.

The name of Mohammed Rafi is synonymous with the golden voice of the silver screen Rs one of the most popular singers of the Hindi film industry, Rafi was notable for his versatility; his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona of the actor lip-synching the song. Between 1950 and 1970, Rafi was the most sought-after singer in the Hindi film industry. He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award. The legend passed away on 31 July 1980, following a massive heart attack and Bollywood has been poorer ever since his sad demise. His last song was for the movie Aas Paas, which he had recorded with Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

Celebrating the true essence of the life, times and songs of Mohammed Rafi, Om Books International recently released the captivating book, Mohammed Rafi: Golden Voice of the Silver Screen, authored by Sujata Dev. What makes this title really interesting is that it is the authorised biography of Mohammed Rafi (authorised by Shahid Rafi) and has a moving foreword by superstar Dilip Kumar.

"Mohammed Rafi was my voice in practically all my memorable films. He was also the voice of all the leading men in Hindi cinema who enjoyed great popularity with the masses in their time. He had the God-given ability to mould and adapt his rendering of a number according to the given situation in the film, the character’s mood of the time, the overall nature and disposition of the character in the film and the setting or milieu of the film," Dilip Kumar mentions in his foreword to this invaluable title. The superstar also acknowledges the fact that whenever he listened to Rafi’s "effortless rendering of the compositions and recordings", it seemed to him "as if he was a part of me when he sang for me".

The superbly packed, hard-bound Mohammed Rafi: Golden Voice of the Silver Screen is published by Om Books International and priced at Rs 595. The book particularly throws light on the singer’s early years, his days in Lahore, life in Bombay and how he went about making his presence felt and his humane side.

There is another prolific film personality Rs a filmmaker of numerous credentials, who directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades, and is named the pioneer of the "middle cinema" of India Rs Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Renowned for his social films that reflected the changing middle-class ethos, Mukherjee "carved a middle path between the extravagance of mainstream cinema and the stark realism of art cinema".

Mukherjee chose to begin working, initially as a cameraman, and then as film editor, in B N Sircar’s New Theatres in Calcutta in the late 1940s, where he learnt his skills from Subodh Mitter (Kenchida), a well-known editor of his times. He then worked with Bimal Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951, participating in the landmark Roy films Do Bigha Zamin and Devdas.

His debut directorial venture, Musafir (1957), was not a success, but he persisted and received acclaim for his second film Anari in 1959. The film, crew and cast won five Filmfare Awards, with Mukherjee only losing the Best Director Award to his mentor, Bimal Roy. In the following years he made numerous films. Some of his most notable films include: Anuradha (1960), Asli-Naqli (1962), Anand (1971), Anupama (1966), Aashirwad (1968), Satyakam (1969), Guddi (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Namak Haraam (1973), Mili (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), Khubsoorat (1980) and Bemisal (1982). He was the first to introduce Dharmendra in comedy roles, through Chupke Chupke, and gave Amitabh Bachchan his big break with Anand in 1970, along with Rajesh Khanna, he also introduced Jaya Bhaduri to Hindi cinema in his film Guddi. Having worked with his mentor Bimal Roy as an editor, in films like Madhumati, he was much sought-after as an editor as well.

The recently released book The World of Hrishikesh Mukherjee: The Filmmaker Everyone Loves by Jai Arun Singh from Penguin India is a fitting tribute to the prolific figure. Jai Arjun Singh looks closely at Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s oeuvre, from well-known films like Satyakam, Guddi, Abhimaan and Khubsoorat to lesser known (but equally notable) works such as Mem-Didi, Biwi aur Makaan and Anuradha. Combining a fan’s passion with a critic’s rigour, the world of Hrishikesh Mukherjee is a book for anyone who takes their filmed entertainment seriously.