India produces more films than any other country, and this work, originally published in 2000, is a reprint of the first comprehensive book on Indian cinema published in a western language since </Indian Film/> (1963) by Barnouw and Krisnaswamy. The focus is on auteurs, but commercial films are not ignored. Ten principal language cinemas are covered; but documentary, animation, and children's films are largely absent, as are films made by Indians no longer residing in India. The history begins much like Hollywood's: a silent era giving way to 30s talkies. Then, however, discussion of the diversity and multiplicity of language and peoples takes over, Hindi cinema assuming an early prominence over other cinemas. Subsequent sections delve into Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam cinemas, as well as the cinemas of Assam, Manipur, and Orissa. One index lists film people and the other, films. Thoraval has an extensive background of advanced international study, has authored eight books, writes for a number of journals, and is currently chief curator for the foreign section of the International Exchange of Publications. The book is distributed in the US by South Asia Books. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)