Details

Published: 07 March 2023

Last Updated: 18 May 2024

NOTE: The book is available on the following websites

pothi.com, notionpress.com, Amazon.in, flipkart.com

International Edition

Please search with the name of the author and/or title.

professor toofaanii publishers, Lansing, MI USA is happy to announce their 49th book

Group Dancers of Indian Cinema (Golden Age and Beyond)
by
Upendra Samaranayake
and
Professor Surjit Singh

Group dancers are also called chorus or backup dancers. Clearly, without them most of the dance sequences would not be too interesting. The reason is that solo performances by the lead characters are rare and usually occur in formal, classical dance settings. For an average movie-goer, these are not very appetizing. Most of the time, though, the main dancer or dancers have to be embedded in a matrix of backup dancers.
The tradition of having other dancers present when the leads are dancing goes back a long way. In the story of the divine dancing pair Radha-Krishna we have Radha's friends almost always present. In fact, sometimes they are so jealous of Radha that Krishna clones himself such that each of Radha's friends thinks that she is the one dancing with him alone.
Quite a few of the folk dances that grew in the middle ages had other dancers besides the lead, sometimes complementing, sometimes mimicking what he or she was doing. As we have seen many times before, this tradition was continued in the theater, silent films, and finally the talkies.
In the talkies, when the dances moved away from the temple or the court to other locations, a need arose for more dancers. These dancers were, unfortunately, very low in the movie industry hierarchy, just above the extras. The extras are the ones sitting in the cafeterias or in parties. You can actually recognize many of them who are common fixtures sometimes for years. Little bit above them are the unheralded group dancers. They are usually hired by dance directors, sometimes called the dance masters or simply masters. They work in groups, get to know each other and typically do not need much rehearsal. They work is reasonably hard, very enjoyable for those who love dancing and pays well, roughly about 5-10 times a secretarial or low-level desk clerk job.
Sadly not much has been written about them. One can forget about biographies, for the most part, even their names are unknown to an average film-goer.
This book is a small effort to name them and have their filmographies written down. Much work still needs to be done.

Paperback, 6 by 9 in, 209 pages. Ts 750 (India), $8.5 (US).

First 15 pages may be seen here

Now You Know!

Details

Published: 06 March 2023

Last Updated: 18 May 2024

NOTE: The book is available on the following websites

pothi.com, notionpress.com, Amazon.in, and flipkart.com

International Edition

Please search with the name of the author and/or title.

professor toofaanii publishers, Lansing, MI USA is happy to announce their 48th book

Lyricists of Hindi Cinema
by
Jawed Hamid and
Gajendra Khanna

This book is about the lyricists of Hindi cinema. It was earlier published in Hindi by Jawed Hamid. It has been translated into English by Gajendra Khanna.  It not only includes well-known ones but also those lyricists who have written less but have given memorable songs to the listeners. The authors spent a lot of time researching and collecting details about those lyricists to incorporate their information. We hope the readers will find this rare information useful.

Paperback, 6 by 9 in, 162 pages, price Rs 650 (India), $9.95 (US).

First ten pages may be read here

Now You Know!

Details

Published: 19 February 2023

Last Updated: 23 August 2023

NOTE: The part II may be downloaded from here

Fact and Fiction II Fact

NOTE: The books are available on the following websites

Amazon.com (and other Amazons), pothi.com, notionpress.com, Amazon.in, flipkart.com, lulu.com

Please search with the name of the author.

For the first like in forever, professor toofaanii publishers, Lansing, MI USA is happy to announce a double feature (two books, numbers 45 and 46)

Fact and Fiction (Parts I and II)

by

Khawar Sohail Siddiqui

This series is about fact and Fiction. The first part is a book of short stories that are thrillers based on science fiction, supernatural, and murder mystery themes. The first two short stories are about animal fairy tales. Both stories have poems and a great deal of drama and humor, something along the lines of an animated thriller. More stories follow with various themes. People of all ages, especially children, will be amused on reading them.

This second part of the series Fact and Fiction is a collection of interesting scientific information on various subjects, amusing and thought-provoking. Subjects covered are a history of Algebra and strange molecules.

Both are paperback and Fully Illustrated. Part I is in Color.

Now You Know!