Memorable Books and Memorable movies

I think most book lovers always feel that the book is better than the movie. It does hold true for many but there have been some good adaptations. In Paulo Coelho’s new book The Zahir the central character who is an acclaimed author says that he would never allow any of his books to be made into movies simply because every reader has his/her own imagination and way of interpreting the book and forming images about it. I feel its good not all authors share the viewpoint because some really great classics would never have got made. In this section I would just like to discuss some of those classics (your comments are invited):


The Godfather is one of the movies that first come to my mind where the book was good and movie became a classic. Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone and Al Pacino as Michael Corleone are among the most memorable onscreen characters ever. A movie like this one can add richness to a book in terms of the acting skills, the music, cinematography, etc.




In recent times Bridget Jones Diary has been one of the more hilarious ones which has been made successfully into a movie. Not only that the book has a sequel which also has been made into a movie Part II. Both are quite good.


How many movie versions have been made of Pride and Prejudice? It's difficult to even keep count! The latest one (starring Keira Knightley) hasn't released in India as yet. So far my favourite one has been the BBC series which had Colin Firth as Darcy. The Indian verision "Bride and Prejudice" starring India actress Aishwarya Rai and set in Amritsar and LA was a complete washout. Rai was as plastic as Barbie Doll.
The book itself is so delightful its charm is eternal.

These are some very witty and well written books on singletons. Humorous, witty and so true to life....they read like diaries, bridget jones is of course very famous since it was made into a movie; the book has a sequel also which is equally good; Piece of cake is about a single woman 29 yrs old living in Delhi fighting for her place in the corporate world and looking for Mr Right (delightfully written) the author is an ex IIM alumni I guess that made the book more realistic at the same time being so funny...

This B&W is clicked by my husband Rohan who is a professional photographer

"The poor in India are, too often, reduced to statistics. In the dry language of development reports and economic projections, the true misery of the 312 million who live below the poverty line, or the 26 million displaced by various projects, or the 13 million who suffer from tuberculosis gets overlooked. In this thoroughly researched study of the poorest of the poor, we get to see how they manage, what sustains them, and the efforts, often ludicrous, to do something for them. The people who figure in this book typify the lives and aspirations of a large section of Indian society, and their stories present us with the true face of development."

Another outstanding book which I think should be read by every Indian. A very gripping book on the poor in India and how policies made for them go wrong. Written in a very interesting and thought provoking style. I wish there was an update to this book, a kind of a sequel since the period covered by this book is the mid nineties...

One of my favourite books; a must read! This book will really freak you out. Even those of you who used to hate economics in school will find this a joy to read. It doesnt even remotely resemble any of those boring economic theory books that you ever read. It talks about how the principles of economics can help us to answer some really tricky or confusing questions and how certain events might be caused by factors not so easy to find otherwise. Read it and you wont regret it.

Rohan and me at The Bowling Alley, Mumbai 

This is my favourite one...