An essential resource for scholars, connoisseurs and serious fans of Indian cinema, Take-2 makes for an entertaining, informative and nostalgia-filled read

In the last few years there has been a glut of books on Indian cinema but most of them focus on the life and times of famous stars or celebrate popular film classics. Even though information and film trivia are now easier to access than ever before, some films have completely disappeared with not even a single print available due to reasons both tragic and strange. Also lost in time are some filmmakers and actors who once added their bit to the history of Indian cinema but have now simply vanished from our collective memory.

In Take-2, Deepa Gahlot reacquaints or introduces us to 50 films (and many artistes) that merit our attention. While some on this list were chosen because they were the first Indian films of their kind, or were obscure films by well-known directors, others deserve mention because they were by creative talents whose contribution to Hindi cinema has been overlooked. Gahlot’s mission to rescue and preserve these forgotten gems should inspire us to go back and take another look.