Book Review - Color Me Rich by Mohan Deep

I have received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. And some books make you think so much, that you can only write honestly about it. Mohan Deep's Color Me Rich has disturbed my thoughts. His protagonist Akash Saigal is too real and for everyone who has been struggling

in the field of art or cinema, there is probably an Akash Saigal hiding somewhere. Being a student of cinema myself, I have often heard my friends based in Mumbai talk of struggling to pay rents, smoking cheap cigarettes but somehow always procuring the steady supply of booze and making love to that thing called Muse. Mohan Deep's Saigal was like meeting a friend. The style of 'today' and 'yesterday' for chapter headings is interesting and the non linear narration keeps the reader hooked to the book. When Akash and Zenobia meet it is much more than a casual affair. Zenobia is rich and bratty and is certain of what she wants. Whereas Suma is more like poetry, the ghazal singer , the Muse, the friend and eventually the lover. Between the two women; Suma's character does have a lot of layers. Zenobia on the other hand is a little predictable. I mean we have all seen a lot of Page 3 Celebrities and their ups and downs. At least if we believe the tabloids that is. I wish we had seen a little more of Suma in the story. Zenobia’s death somehow was a grim reminder of mysterious deaths in the world of glamour and I was actually expecting a lot more twists before the mystery culminated. Some of the supporting characters like Pran and Bollywood Aunty are beautifully written. A couple of things that will remain with me is the jibe that Akash hears in the beginning of the story for his limited wardrobe and again when we come to know that Akash has to avoid lot of invitations because he cannot afford glamorous clothes to wear all the time. These probably bring no major changes in the plot; but are a reminder of what goes in the making of an artist. The complexity within Akash has been created beautifully and even though the ending is a little filmy, but we can give the writer brownie points for that. Color Me Rich is after all a glimpse of all that goes beyond the camera , exhibitions and bound scripts.