BySukant Deepak

December 9, 2019 (IANSlife) The first-of-its-kind book that presents the history of media and entertainment in India – from the times of the Indus Valley Civilization right up to the twenty-first century, ‘Words Sounds Images’ (HarperCollins India) by author Amit Khanna will be released in the capital on December 13 at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library at 6 pm. 

The book starts with an examination of the origins, looking at a wide array of aspects including the state of entertainment during Harappan and Vedic times, details from the Natyashastra; the early drama, music and dance of Kalidasa; the development of ragas; musical instruments and early folk traditions; the genesis of classical dance forms; developments through the ages, including in the Mughal period, in the southern kingdoms, in the north-east, and under the Marathas and the British. 

Independence onwards, ‘Words Sounds Images’ takes a decade-wise look at the evolution of newspapers, cinema, music, television, dance, theatre and radio. 

The author, Amit Khanna has worked across every segment in the field—print, radio, television, films, stage, live entertainment and digital media. He started his film career as an executive producer, writer and lyricist with actor-film-maker Dev Anand’s Navketan Films in 1970. He has written the lyrics of 250 film and several non-film songs and in the 1980s, wrote, directed and produced many critically acclaimed feature films, documentaries, commercials and TV programmes.

In 1989, he set up the Plus Channel, India’s first integrated media and entertainment company, a platform for many award-winning films. He has also been an editorial adviser to The Economic Times, Probe, Take 2, Online, Super cinema and other publications.

He is also the founder chairman of Reliance Entertainment (from the year 2000 to 2015), India’s leading studio. Under his leadership, Reliance Entertainment diversified into production, distribution and exhibition of films across formats, radio and TV broadcasting, direct-to-home TV, gaming and online content creation in India and abroad. He has been on the Governing Councils at the Jamia Millia Islamia Media Research Centre, and the Film Institutes in Pune and Kolkata, as well of Whistling Woods. He was the first Indian to serve on the international Emmys Jury.

His anthology of Hindi poetry, ‘Anant Raag’ (Infinite Verse), was published by HarperCollins in 2013.

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Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in