Show Business Satirical Novel by Shashi Tharoor

Show Business by Shashi Tharoor is a satirical novel that uses Bollywood cinema as a metaphor to explore contemporary Indian society, politics, and culture. The story follows Ashok Banjara, a Bollywood superstar who, after a severe accident on a film set, lies in a hospital ICU reflecting on his life and career through flashbacks. Ashok arrives in Bombay from Delhi and quickly rises to fame as an action star known for playing the "angry young man" fighting injustice. He marries co-star Maya, but his philandering ways lead him to have a mistress, Mehnaz Elahi. At the height of his stardom, Ashok enters politics but finds himself sidelined and eventually embroiled in a money-laundering scandal. His political career collapses, and he struggles to revive his film career, taking a role in a mythological film called Kalki, where he suffers the accident that leaves him critically injured. The novel's narrative mimics Bollywood film structure, using multiple voices, flashbacks, and film synopses to parody the industry’s formulaic nature. It also draws parallels between Bollywood, politics, and religion as different forms of "show business" that sell illusions to the public. Characters in the novel are inspired by real Bollywood personalities, especially Amitabh Bachchan, whose life parallels Ashok’s. Overall, Show Business is a witty, insightful commentary on fame, ambition, corruption, and the blurred lines between reality and illusion in Indian society.