Anupama Chopra

In the age of the manicured celebrity image, Anupama Chopra turns the interview into an unembellished archive of India’s popular culture. Before the pan-India films became a phenomenon that united screens and streaming platforms fragmented audiences and their tastes forever, Anupama Chopra’s Film Companion was in the front row, week after week, capturing what lies behind the ephemeral, breathless world of Indian cinema. Dining with Stars features Anupama Chopra’s most special interviews, including some by her colleague Sneha Menon Desai. This is a collection of candid conversations with India’s biggest superstars that capture how Indian cinema and the entertainment industry have grown into multi-billiondollar industry over the years. From Sushant Singh Rajput contemplating authenticity as a defense mechanism, Ranveer Singh managing his chaos and a hardened heart, to Deepika Padukone meticulously colour-coding her script and Sanjay Leela Bhansali purging his demons onto a soundstage, in here are conversations with the most celebrated names in Indian cinema, vulnerable and baring their imperfect cores beneath the glamour. Dining with Stars is a journey through the minds of India’s finest artists at crucial turning points, offering a rare, unvarnished look at the price of fame, the alchemy of stardom, and the sheer nerve it takes to survive in blinding lights following you all the time.

Aditya Chopra’s 1995 romantic drama, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, follows the journey of Raj and Simran, who fall in love on a trip to Europe but must fight societal expectations as Simran is betrothed to marry someone else in an arranged marriage. It is one of the most commercially successful and longest-running films in Indian cinema history, shown consistently for over 25 years in Mumbai''s Maratha Mandir theatre.Anupama Chopra’s study of the film explores is cult status, analysing its mise-en- scene, soundtrack, and star-making performances by Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. She argues that it is a paradoxical film which at once affirms the power of love to transcend societal norms and expectations, while also upholding old-fashioned values of pre-marital chastity and family authority, affirming the idea that Westernisation need not affect an essential Indian identity.In her foreword to this new edition, published to coincide with the film’s 30th anniversary, Monika Mehta reflects on the film’s perennial success, considering its position as cultural phenomenon that continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.