Latest news with #OmBooksInternational
News18
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
John Abraham To Launch Lakadbaggha: The Prologue In Mumbai
Last Updated: Lakadbaggha: The Prologue, a graphic novel by Anshuman Jha and Brittain Peck, will be unveiled on May 26 in Mumbai by John Abraham. We have a new kind of hero, one who doesn't wear a cape, but fights for those without a voice. Lakadbaggha: The Prologue, a gripping new graphic novel, is set to be unveiled on May 26 in Mumbai, with none other than actor, animal rights advocate, and PETA India's Honorary Director John Abraham doing the honours. Written by actor-filmmaker Anshuman Jha and illustrated by celebrated American comic artist Brittain Peck, the book acts as a prelude to the cult action film Lakadbaggha. It's not just a prequel but the first brick in building an entire universe around India's original animal-loving vigilante. This ambitious project brings together stunning visuals and a strong message about protecting the voiceless – animals. Audiences will be introduced to the origin story of Arjun Bakshi, the mysterious fighter who takes on cruelty with claw and courage. For Anshuman Jha, the comic is deeply personal. 'I grew up as a kid in Allahabad reading Chacha Choudhary, Nagraj & Tintin. I was also blessed to have been exposed to animals & nature – with my heart always deeply rooting for them. I always dreamt of a hero who would fight for the voiceless — not just on screen, but off the pages too. Lakadbaggha – The Prologue is the beginning of that dream realised…" Brittain Peck, who brings Arjun Bakshi's world to life on the page, shared, 'I'm honoured and thrilled to be partnering with Anshuman to bring Arjun Bakshi to the pages of a comic book based on a film I deeply admire… Arjun Bakshi's story and passion for protecting those less fortunate is one that I wish I had found when I was a kid, which makes me all the more excited to create Arjun as a comic hero for kids to read today." Published by Om Books International, known for pushing creative boundaries in Indian publishing, Lakadbaggha: The Prologue marks the beginning of a powerful new chapter in Indian storytelling. The Mumbai launch will see the cast and crew of the Lakadbaggha franchise, including Ridhi Dogra, in attendance. First Published:
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Arthur Conan Doyle turns 166: What Sherlock Holmes means to these 3 Indian mystery authors
Authored by: Soumya Duggal Born over a century and a half ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was Victorian England's version of a multi-hyphenate. A physician, activist, social commentator and (later) Spiritualist, he was most well-known for his prolific writing career, giving the literary world one of its crown jewels: the razor-sharp but eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes. This 'master detective' archetype shaped the whodunnits of not only Golden Age writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers in the 1920s and '30s, but also Satyajit Ray decades later. As Doyle turned 166 years old yesterday, we spoke to three Indian murder mystery novelists to unpack the enduring appeal of his Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories, especially as modern society challenges the imperialistic notions that shaped the art as well as the artist. 'I first discovered Doyle's novels when I was about 11 or 12. It was a mouldering, old hardback that I randomly picked off a shelf in my grandparents' home in Calcutta. I remember the sheer drama of the stories…the deadly herbs that induced madness (The Adventure of the Devil's Foot), the terror caused by curious dancing stick figures (The Adventure of the Dancing Men),' recalls author Samyukta Bhowmick, adding, 'Children love unsettling, thrilling stories — or at least I did.' Young Bhowmick, enthralled by the vast world penned by Conan Doyle, enjoyed journeying from Mormon country in Utah to the Reichenbach Falls to the dark heart of Sussex, all from the comfort of her cosy bed. Now an author herself, she wrote A Fatal Distraction, published by Juggernaut in October 2024, which follows the unlikely journalist duo Mridula and Monami as they solve the death cases cropping up in the chaotic universe of Delhi tabloid journalism. The novel is a critical but entertaining take on the hypocrisies of media and high society. A post shared by Sam Bhowmick (@sambhwmck) 'The relationship between my detectives is similar to that of Holmes and Watson (and also Poirot and Hastings). My main character also shares some of Holmes's misanthropic tendencies and his sense of his own superiority,' Bhowmick says. 'But,' she further reflects on her own authorial position, 'as an Indian and a woman, I'm also writing a response to Golden Age fiction. It can't just be a homage. I don't occupy the same 'space' in the world as Doyle did, and my characters don't have the Victorian confidence and certainty of a Holmes or Watson.' It's a telling point, for Mridula and Monami are as curious and determined as they can be self-doubting and cautious, priming the readers to relate to and even empathise with the detective figure. Author Divyaroop Bhatnagar, whose Mussoorie Murders was published by Om Books International in September 2023, also discovered the adventures of Sherlock Holmes rather young: 'My father was an aficionado of detective and crime fiction. He died young, but he left behind a vast collection of classic crime fiction. I started reading Conan Doyle probably around the age of 10 and must have reread his Sherlock Holmes stories dozens of times.' Set in the Queen of Hills, Bhatnagar's narrative is built around twin murders, interwoven with a subplot featuring Doyle, Christie and Rudyard Kipling as characters. 'Holmes embodied the perfect example of an intellect sans emotion. Avijit Sikdar, the detective in my novel, shares similarities with Holmes. His love of order, immaculate sense of dress and even the tall, lean appearance are all reminiscent of the great master,' he states, adding, 'Yet, like Hercule Poirot, Sikdar is more human than Holmes.' A post shared by Bookmonk (@readwithjaipahuja) 'Doyle inspired a number of writers in India, most notably Satyajit Ray, whose Feluda is a self-confessed fan of Sherlock Holmes. The Holmesian mystique is strong and lasting. I see young people devouring his books even today,' affirms Bhatnagar. According to Roy, Holmes' investigative process, ostensibly based on forensic acumen and dispassionate truth-seeking, drew upon ethnographic stereotypes of his time to demonise racial 'others' and played upon his readers' fears of alien contagions that might have travelled from the colonies. 'In A Study in Scarlet, The Adventure of the Devil's Foot and The Speckled Band, spaces like South America, Africa and India are represented through strangely horrific indigenous poisons (or even a poisonous snake), all of which are used in murders within England,' she elaborates. Roy's first detective novel, Stroke of Death, published by Hachette India in September 2024, is set in colonised Bengal in the early twentieth century, fusing history and mystery with equal nuance. She concedes that it was initially difficult to ignore Doyle's literary influence while characterising her own detective figure, Inspector Dhananjoy Lahiri. 'Ultimately, though, my novel contains only an obligatory hat tip to Holmes, and distances itself from the long shadow cast by Doyle's creation. As such, Lahiri is someone whose rationality does not overwhelm his sensitivity. He is able to view justice as being far too complex to have simplistic, black-and-white solutions. Not surprisingly, he has read and rejected the Holmesian model of detection!' A post shared by Sejuti | Books | Music | Shows 🇮🇳 (@booksandsejuti) As calls for a progressive, compassionate and equitable society grow, especially in light of climate disasters and geopolitical tensions, it is interesting to rethink the essential traits of the detective. Bhowmick echoes Roy's views on adopting an investigative, critical lens into the archetypes and tropes of our literary past: 'India lurks in the background and subtext of the Holmes stories, imbued with imperialistic prejudices. But such assumptions are in direct contrast to the rational and scientific Holmesian temperament. But again, who can say that Holmes, a habitual user of mind-altering substances, was a purely rational creature — a creation of the head and not the heart?' This might be one answer to the literary predicaments of our time: Should politically problematic 'masterpieces' be banished from the canon, and can art truly be separated from its artist? These questions have knocked down many a classic off its pedestal. And so, perhaps instead of dismissal, we could opt for engagement, full of conformities and departures, appreciation and criticism, pleasure and pain, in favour of an ever-evolving literary tradition.
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Business Standard
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
'Shamans of the Himalayas' captures valley life in words and images
Shamans of the Himalayas Publisher: Om Books International 340 pages Price: ₹595 One of India's most acclaimed documentary filmmakers and cultural chroniclers, Anu Malhotra, has released a rare and riveting account of her decade-long immersion with the Goors (shamans) of the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh. The beautifully illustrated book is both a travel memoir and an anthropological reflection, giving readers an intimate view of the Devta culture — an ancient system of spirit deities and rituals that is still practised by villagers in the picturesque Kullu valley. The Shamans of the Himalayas began in 2008 when Ms Malhotra encountered a shaman of Hadimba Devi in a divine possession trance during a celebratory mela in Manali. Ms Malhotra decided to document this culture and learn more about it. Ms Malhotra was soon swept into the mystical world of Goors — powerful shamans who serve as mediums of the Devta — oracles, trance mediums, exorcists, doctors, astrologers, counsellors, psychotherapists, life coaches, spiritual guides, practitioners of magic, and healers. It was astonishing indeed for her to see Goors go into a trance, allowing the spirit of the Devi or Devta to enter their bodies and communicate with people through them. Ms Malhotra went on to unravel many sacred rituals, magico-religious practices and traditional healing modalities — many of which had never been documented before. She was surprised to find that the village Devtas were not merely objects of worship but an institution governing every aspect of life – social, cultural, moral, economic, religious, and political. The shamans act as spiritual intermediaries who continue to guide village life in this remote terrain. 'The village Devta or Devi guides all activities, including festivals, marriages, and customs,' she writes. She also discovered that in order to film any of the valley's religious activities, she required formal permission from the Devta of the area. She began working on her four-part documentary series in 2008, and took three years to research, film, and edit it. A few years ago, she decided to adapt the series into a book, which took about four years to write. At the outset, the author defines and introduces various types of shamanism practices across the world – such as trance states, spirit possession, and sacred healing – particularly in India. 'Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit world,' she writes. While researching the subject, Ms Malhotra found that shamanic traditions are a universal form of cultural practice. 'They represent humanity's earliest spiritual practices going back about 30,000 to 60,000 years,' she says. Moreover, the practice of shamanism has been documented throughout Asia, Oceania, North and South America, Africa, and parts of Europe. 'The main role of a Goor is to be the medium of the Devta. To allow divine possession to take place, or for their body to be taken over by the Devta, requires them to be in a state of trance, or altered state of consciousness,' explains Ms Malhotra. After following Tuleram, the Goor of Hadimba Devi for a while, Ms Malhotra finally manages to meet him and uncover his extraordinary story. Her quest leads her to search for other Goors in the region, including a female one. For the people of Kullu, communicating with their gods through Goors and divine healings are a part of their everyday lives, even for the so-called 'cosmopolitan Paharis'. Ms Malhotra observes that devotees come to the Devi with full faith, with problems ranging from physical and mental health, career-related, familial as well as community-related issues. 'The Devi's suggestions and solutions can range from herbal cures, behavioural changes and pujas to animal sacrifices and even exorcisms,' she explains. Needless to say, the role of the Goor comes with much responsibility. Bound by rules and regulations, Goors receive many benefits and much respect. The author also delves deep into the historical background of divine possession. Among other fascinating events, she also witnesses a mass exorcism. Ms Malhotra also throws light on various 'nature spirits' that are believed in across the world. Along the way, she also makes important reflections, such as the fact that the inequalities of the caste system are very much a lived reality not just for the majority of the population in the Kullu Valley but across the country. The book is interspersed with photographs by the author, depicting all that she saw and experienced first-hand. Having personally lived in Manali briefly during my childhood, vivid descriptions of the valley and its people particularly spoke to me.
New Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Old Gold: The aura of Sharmila Tagore's Mrs Sen in Puratawn
Prim and proper Mrs Sen has two house guests. Her beloved daughter Mamoni and her son-in-law have come to celebrate her 80th birthday, but what tumbles out are family secrets – an unravelling marriage and a troubled mother-daughter relationship marked by physical distance and old age. Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore's virtuoso performance as Mrs Sen in Puratawn (The Ancient), directed by Sumon Ghosh, had its first private screening in Delhi NCR before a select gathering in the intimate space of Gurugram's Museo Camera Centre for the Photographic Arts on Sunday. Tagore looked elegant in a black outfit and stole. Rituparna Sengupta, the film's producer, who also plays Tagore's daughter Mamoni, was resplendent in a white sari. Tagore's cousins, cinema critic Shohini Ghosh, former chief information commissioner of India Wajahat Habibullah, and Diana Mickeviciene, the Lithuanian Ambassador to India, were in the audience. Preparing for the role After the last bars of Alokananda Dasgupta's music faded from the screen, the discussion moderated by Shantanu Ray Choudhuri, Editor In Chief, Om Books International, began. The two actors talked of the art they brought to play in their respective characters. The script was central for Tagore. As her character was one for whom memory loss, or rather a state in which 'the past was the present', was continual, she was sent a lot of books on mental health and dementia by the director. 'The character is not based on any real-life Mrs Sen. I kept reading the script and my mind drew on what I had read on the subject, or seen in real life. One film can be about many films. It's difficult to outline the process,' she said. 'The actual transformation of 'becoming' Mrs Sen would happen when I would put on the makeup and go to the set.' Sengupta's character, too, had quite a graph in the film, moving from concerned daughter to one losing her equilibrium with too many modern-day pulls and pressures – a crumbling marriage with a photographer with his own secrets, a hectic work-life as partner in a consultancy firm, a daughter seeking solace in the old relationship with her mother and then having to confront the fact that her mother's relationship at present is only with the child she was in the past. Sengupta, while talking of 'the great journey as an actor' that Puratawn has been, spoke of being in awe of Tagore, and deciding to take up the challenge of being a producer because the senior actor asked her to. 'The director told me I would be challenged on many fronts in this film. What made me do it was the name Sharmila Tagore. She said, 'I am doing a film in my language after so many years….' It was such a personal confession….' The Puratawn milestone Puratawn is a milestone in Sharmila Tagore's career. Her luminous beauty and acting have graced Indian cinema right from her first appearance as Aparna, a young bride with eyes like bottomless pools, in Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar (1959), part of the Apu Trilogy. Puratawn is her return to Bengali cinema after 14 years; she was last seen in Rituparno Ghosh's Shubho Muhurat, a mystery thriller in which she played a former leading actor who turns to murder for a reason. This year is also the 50th year of her finest Hindi film performance in Mausam (1975); she played Kajli, a foul-mouthed sex worker, trying to seduce a man who knows she is his daughter and has come to claim her. Amitabh Bachchan is Tagore's contemporary; the two have been paired in films such as Besharam and Faraar. Like Bachchan, who still has films written for him, keeping in mind his age, Tagore – and perhaps Shabana Azmi – is the only woman actor around whom films are mounted. In 2023, Tagore played Kusum Batra, the matriarch in Gulmohur , a family drama set in a well-to-do middle-class north Indian home, coincidentally also a film where the drama unfolds around the leaving and keeping of an old house. In Puratawn , the house was crucial to the story. Set on the banks of Ganga, in an area that was once the hub of Bengal's jute mills, it is atmospheric and sits in an area that has its own story of rise, decline and death. Tagore and Sengupta joked about the director 'getting this house' almost a condition for doing the film as he had signed up the actors he wanted. 'Are we not enough? Is the house so important?' shared the actors to much laughter. The making Tagore's world in Puratawn is, by design, dimly lit. Her character is built up with silences, vacant eyes, a sudden dimpling of her face, absent-mindedness, shifts of mood and temper, depending on which moment of the past she inhabits in her present moment. Beautiful Bengal handlooms, everyday at-home saris that women of a certain generation wear, and a black and gold dhakai in a pivotal scene in which she agrees to a black bindi be placed on her forehead, accentuated the actor's beauty; the scenes in which there are close-ups of the character's veins, much like the gnarled roots of trees that have entered her house, show the imprint of time on one of mainstream cinema's most remarkable actors, and her long journey. Tagore is generous in her praise of the director and the production team of a film that, many say, may get her a National Award. 'The pauses, the silences, the ambience, were all there in the story, and was made possible by the direction. Everything was made possible so that I could be effective,' she said. 'In theatre, you can own the space and have a conversation with the audience. But in a film if you are not in the right frame or the lens is wrong…the film's DOP [Director of Photography] Ravi Kiran Ayyagari is a wizard,' she said. The audience reactions were that of fulsome praise. 'I thought I had forgotten to cry,' said a member of the audience. Others spoke of the film's 'relatability' in post-Covid-19 times, of many generations having to live together and its challenges. The Lithuanian ambassador said it was 'a universal story and can be imagined on any continent'. The Bengalis in the audience couldn't have enough of the references to bottles of Arnica, Boroline, HIT spray and KC Nag maths book, staples in their homes— one was witness to this a week before as well when one caught the film at a Gurugram big screen. Perhaps, in those moments something in them stirred, the city vanished and they were transported back home in Bengal re-opening some boxes covered in ancient dust. Puratawn enters the third week nationally. It has been selected for the New York Indian Film Festival. To watch Puratawn, book tickets at
Sharjah 24
08-04-2025
- Business
- Sharjah 24
Insightful perspectives at Sharjah Booksellers Conference 2025
A gateway to the MENA market For many, the opportunity to participate in the conference as an exhibitor is invaluable. Mohinder Sahni, Business Head (Export Division) of Om Books International from India is no stranger to the event, noting, 'Having attended the Sharjah International Book Fair for many years, and now participating in the Sharjah International Booksellers Conference for my third time, this event is indispensable for both my professional and personal growth.' Expanding on this she said, 'This region is a major market for us, but beyond sales, this conference equips us with insights into regional trends, from children's literature to academic publishing. The connections we've built here have led to partnerships that span continents, and I'm always happy to return,' she stated. Amplifying Palestinian voices The conference's focus on fostering relationships resonated strongly with attendees from around the world. Baker Zeidan, owner of Al-Shmel Publishing & Distribution in Palestine and a representative of Palestinian Publishers, highlighted the lasting benefits of his involvement. 'This is my fourth time attending, and I have been to every one of the conferences so far. Each time, I learn new ways of production and building relationships." Zeidan added, 'I was honored to be a speaker at the first edition, where I shared the unique challenges of publishing and the book industry in Palestine, and it's inspiring to see how the conference continues to grow and evolve each year, providing new and interesting topics to learn about and, more importantly, new connections to be made.' Using data to thrive in a competitive market Adding to the positive feedback regarding this year's conference was Huda Ibrahim, a consultant from Nielsen BookData, an international organisation with offices in the UK and India, and a presence in Sharjah through the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone (SPC Free Zone). 'Participating for the second year, and also facilitating one of the roundtable discussions, allows Nielsen BookData to engage directly with key stakeholders in the region. We serve over 40,000 schools, universities, publishers, etc., providing detailed metadata essential for efficient book management and discovery. Being here offers a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how our services can optimise their operations and help them thrive in a competitive market.' Ibrahim highlighted. For participants, the stakes, and opportunities are high, and with the global publishing industry evolving rapidly, the conference offers a rare chance to connect face-to-face, learn from peers, and showcase brands and services to an international audience. With attendees representing over 92 countries, the conference reflects Sharjah's growing influence as a bridge between East and West, North and South.
