Author Description

This is the first ever book book on Junior Artists (previously called Extras) in Hindi cinema. These people are NOT lead players, supporting or character artists. These artists are supposed to remain inconspicuous, do not have a spoken part, never get a closeup, and, are akin to other props on the set such as sofas, stuffed tigers and wall clocks! A lot of these artists are seen as teachers, temple priests, policemen, moneylenders, henchmen, beggars, lawyers, judges, and regular party goers or court attendees, to name a few. They are known by various names: junior artists, atmosphere, background talent, background artists or performers, supernumeraries, supers, walking background, human props, and so on. Of course, they are never mentioned anywhere. In this book you will find almost 50 of them (who debuted before 1961) named and identified by their roles in hundreds of films. Next time when you watch your favorite film and wonder who is that sitting at a party on a cabaret, open this books and you will be find enlightenment!