SHYAM — A Star Forgotten (Coffee Table Book)  (Hardcover, Bimal Chadha)

he meteoric rise — followed by the sudden death — of Shyam, one of Hindi Cinema’s finest actors in mid-20th century, is the kind of stuff that usually belongs to the world of fiction. Had he lived longer, Shyam would have joined the illustrious company of popular actors such as Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. Shyam — A Star Forgotten is an effort to chronicle the life and times of the remarkable artist. His story needs to be told, and who better to tell it than his nephew Bimal Chadha, for whom this was a labour of love running into decades. The richly illustrated book features rare and unseen pictures of Shyam from his youth and college days, family photos and photos with his wife and daughter, posters and film stills. It also has his filmography.