#mscbl

[librademons]

Review: “My So-Called Bollywood Life” 3/5

By Nisha Sharma

So this book starts off introducing our lovable Winnie and she’s a pretty great main character. The novel essentially focuses on her internal dilemma of destiny vs. free will, relationship with Dev (her love interest) and Raj (her ex boyfriend) and dream of attending NYU for South Asian Film Studies.

Right off the bat I KNEW I was going to like Winnie, mostly because we’re very alike. Aside from being Indian American teenagers, we both love film, we’re both romantics and we’re both ambitious. That being said I don’t know if I would recommend this book if your weren’t Indian or interested in film. Most of the book’s charm lies in its relatability with its audience. In fact the book’s entire plot prides itself on Indian teenagers in a love triangle (and Bollywood). It’s representation for Indians in romance (which is what drew me to read it anyway). But I digress with awarding this book a 3 out of 5 stars with the last star coming solely from the relatability of Winnie’s life as an Indian American. There’s moments that had me saying “Oh my gosh i completely understand why divorce was such a big deal in Dev’s family” or why Raj didn’t think studying film was a realistic career or just silly moments where Nani, Winnie’s grandmother, threatens to hit Winnie with her sandal and Winnie’s mom throws a pooja. It’s just situations that only Indian Americans would really, truly understand because we live through them! This book was fun.

But after that raving review I wouldn’t suggest reading this book for a complex plot or fleshed out characters either. The plot of this book follows the classic romance formula. Two unlikely characters start to have feelings for each other, they grow closer, they open up/ throw a grand gesture, there’s a falling out, and the main character sacrifices something/ does something to profess their love, the two reunite, and everything works out in the end. So if you’re looking for an easy and cheesy read you’ll enjoy it. I also want to point out how some of the main characters fell very short. Characters like Dev, Raj and Jenny felt off, i guess? Dev ,while i did like him and his relationship with Winnie, had an annoying case of fragile masculinity especially when it was obvious Winnie wasn’t into Raj and that Raj was harmless. That blow to Raj’s face (and ego) felt slightly unearned. Raj also felt all over the place. It was like the author couldn’t decide if he was a dick or just a misunderstood guy (I came to the conclusion  that he was a dick). Oh! And wow what a HUGE deus ex machina it was for Raj all of a sudden after not budging at all on the issue, to accept Winnie’s future and his place in her life. Convenient. Jenny, at least, was consistent; she played the typical stalkery, mean girl ex which was a little too cheesy but okay. 

I do want to highlight the biggest theme of the novel real quick: destiny vs. free will. I won’t get into Winnie’s obscure and almost stupid reasoning for getting upset with Dev and Bridget, but I still enjoyed reading Winnie struggle with whether she was truly following her heart or just fulfilling her prophecy for the sake of it. She mentions how she feels as if she has outgrown her destiny (the one with Raj) because it just doesn't apply anymore and I’ve reached my own conclusion. 

Destiny isn’t supposed to be set in stone. It isn’t one, specific future that happens no matter what decisions we make. Instead, destiny is always changing because we are always changing. Fate is something we choose the outcome of, so in Winnie’s case she could have chosen to stay with Raj for the sake of her “destiny” but she instead chose to stay true to herself and date Dev because he makes her happy and because of that he ended up satisfying the pundit’s prediction anyway.

Just something to think about.

Thanks for reading!

[prernapickett-writer]

I desperately wanted (and needed) a book like #mysocalledbollywoodlife when I was a teen. I had yet to see an MC that looked like me and it made finding books difficult at times. I am so glad teens today have more representation in books (could be a lot more but that's a different discussion for a different day). What I especially loved about MSCBL is how much of my childhood is present in each chapter. From references to movies I grew up watching, to the obsession with astrology charts. Guess what? My parents had my astrological chart done by a Hindu priest when I was a baby! It was how they chose my name! My mom kept it and even though I can't read it, she's told me many times what it says. Indians don't mess around when it comes to astrology so I loved how it's at the forefront of the plot. I loved Winnie's family, her friendship with Bridget, and the chemistry between her and Dev. I could go on and on about what I loved about this book, but instead I'll let you all read it yourself. I'm so glad I found it though, even at my age I needed it. Many thanks to @nishawrites for writing it! #whatimreading #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #booklover #bookstagram #readerlife #readersofinstagram #yafiction #youngadultfiction #youngadultcontemporary

[lazyupdates]

Chief Minister of Manipur, Nongthombam Biren Singh handed over a loan amount of Rs. 50,000 under Manipur State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) Ltd. to a 21-year-old differently-abled girl belonging to interior Toitung village of Chandel district at Chief Minister’s secretariat on Monday.

The girl namely, Hoineithem Haokip has expertise in making handmade flowers and bamboo stools. She was introduced to the chief minister by the officers of 19 Assam Rifles during an interaction of village authority leaders of Khengjoi sub-division and the chief minister on June 7, at his secretariat.

Despite both limbs are being paralysed since childhood due to Polio infection, Km. Hoineithem is said to have been running a small scale arts and crafts enterprise at her village, located around 165 km from Imphal. Biren directed the officials of MSCBL to arrange a soft loan for the girl on that day.

MSCBL managing director A. Subhash Singh, officers of 19 Assam Rifles and Hoineithem’s guardians were also present when the chief minister handed over the loan amount to the girl on Monday.

-Imphal Free Press

The post Manipur CM Hands over Loan to Differently-Abled Girl appeared first on Northeast Today.

[bollywoodisforlovers]

Supplemental Episode 5: Nisha Sharma's MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE!

In our fifth supplemental episode we’re speaking to author Nisha Sharma about her upcoming young adult novel My So-Called Bollywood Life, available May 15th. 

Show Notes: 

Nisha Sharma’s website and Twitter

Check out Nish’a book tour

Preorder MSCBL from Penguin Random House, Indigo, or Barnes & Noble 

The actress from Good Luck Charlie is Bridgit Mendler

NEXT TIME: TBA

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

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