CHARACTERS: 2.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5
CLIMAX: 2.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5
“Numerous auditions – Cut, Shoot and Freeze,
Abundant emotions – Love, Rage and Tease,
Plentiful dialogues – What! Oh no..!! and Please,
Brew your coffee and lay back in ease,
Enjoy all this in the tantalizing world of “Bollywood Striptease”
Neeta Shah’s Bollywood Striptease comes with a cover and title which is scandalously sexy.
The book, about the life of a struggler Nikki Shah, is written with a fresh tone and an easy style.
Nikki or Nikita Shah is a smart and intelligent chartered accountant who works in a well-paid corporate job. Suddenly, she realizes that she has to abandon her job for the fulfilment of a more glamorous dream. She dreams of becoming a Bollywood starlet.
Immediately, she leaves the safe confines of her secured and well-paid job, inviting the wrath of her family and friends.
It’s not long before she finally convinces them of the importance of her dream and they agree to let her have a chance at the big bad world of Bollywood.
The rest of the book is all about Nikki’s chase for a big break and her adventures with Telugu film industry, small screen industry, lousy agents, deceitful boyfriends and pervert producers.
The roller-coaster ride on which Bollywood Striptease will take you will surely give you a glimpse of the life in Bollywood and more so, the life of strugglers.
Neeta is blessed with a fresh and breezy style of writing. There is not a single moment where you would want to put the book down with boredom.
The characters are good and diverse and will remind you of Madhur Bhandarkar’s movies.
I liked the characters of Shonali and Karan; it is really difficult to find friends like that in today’s world.
The soft and shy Akansha is also a delight to read about. Finally, the dad, the brother, the mom and her new husband – the “Dracula” and all good and well weaved.
This is the first novel I have read with its theme based on “Bollywood”, so I must say for me, it was a garden-fresh and refreshing read.
I must warn you though – the gorgeous cover may well seduce you to grab it and give it a go, but what lies inside is only for you to find.
As for myself, I thought the plot does not do much justice to the cover and title. Bollywood Striptease being a fresh and decent read, the expectations of finding something “really scandalous” fuelled by the cover and title are not met when one starts reading what is inside.
The plot could surely have been more thoughtful and the climax a little less predictable.
I must say that for those of you who are head over heels in love with chick-lit dramas, this is surely a good one to go.
However, as I said earlier don’t let the cover and title get on to you and spoil your reading pleasure. Go for it with a light head and without expectations and trust me you will have a worthy time reading it.
As for Neeta Shah, I believe, with a more focused approach on the plot and the climax, she has the potential of making it big. I wish her all the very best for her future endeavours.