Dream big – dream Bollywood style


Puneet Bhandal had been writing for magazines for more than two decades before turning her hand to children’s fiction, turning to her love of Bollywood films for ideas. Here she shares her experiences, inspiration and reasons for writing Starlet Rivals.


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VER since I could remember, I was enchanted by the ‘masala’ – the songs, dances, colour, and


melodrama – of Bollywood movies. I grew up in Southall, one of the most multicultural towns in London. And the best part about living there was that we had three cinemas just to screen Bollywood movies. I spent many weekends in either the


Liberty, Century or Dominion theatres with large groups of family and friends to catch the latest Bollywood blockbuster. On Monday mornings at school, I’d excitedly discuss the film I’d seen with my Asian friends, some of whom also enjoyed the Hindi language movies from Mumbai. But Bollywood films weren’t something I felt I could chat about with my non-Asian friends. I yearned to learn more about Bollywood and more specifically, my culture. Maybe I needed more Asian role models – I never saw anybody who looked like me on Top of the Pops, in TV shows, presenting the news, or in the latest Hollywood movie.


I remember visiting Jubilee Library in Southall, scouring bookshelves to find books about India, Bollywood or both. They were scant. The closest I came were the fiction books of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, set in India during the period of the British Raj. The 1975 novel Heat & Dust was one of my favourites. I turned to film magazines – copies of Stardust,


Cineblitz and Filmfare were always piled high in my bedroom.


Fast forward 15 years: I found myself employed as the Entertainments Editor of Eastern Eye newspaper, a national weekly for British Asians. It was a dream job for me. I actually got paid to read lots of film magazines (the internet wasn’t even a thing back then). Writing about Bollywood film stars and the latest goings-on in the Hindi film industry, reviewing the latest releases and soundtracks plus being able to visit movie sets when producers were shooting in London was thrilling. Up close, though, you see the flaws too. I saw how competitive actresses were with one another. I saw how insecure some of the actors were. I saw how film roles were dished out more due to family connections rather than talent. It seemed that nepotism was the biggest recruitment driver in Bollywood. All of this was equally fascinating.


Fast forward another 15 years: I’m scouring libraries and bookshops for picture books and early readers for my daughter. I can see books about fairies and princesses. “Why isn’t there anything set in Bollywood?”, I asked myself.


The internet had arrived by now, so I Googled. I found nothing. There had to be something. Anything. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. If it didn’t exist, I would have to make it exist.


Sounds so simple, but if you know anything about the book publishing


Puneet Bhandal is a first time author. Her debut book, Bollywood Academy: Starlet Rivals is out now.


industry, you know it may well be easier to become a Bollywood actress than get a book published if you are unknown or from a minority background. I was both of those. I had tons of experience in magazine and newspaper publishing. After Eastern Eye, I had gone on to work for business magazines, national newspapers and glamorous monthlies like Marie Claire and InStyle. I decided to get writing and within three years, I had created three draft manuscripts that I set about pitching. I was surprised to get such nice rejections. Most of them weren’t standard dismissals of my work. Instead, I received comments like ‘what a brilliant and commercial idea… but…’


Yes, there was always a but. Autumn-Winter 2022


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