Karma's Child

Subhash Ghai is the man behind some of Hindi cinema's most iconic movies. Of the sixteen films he made between 1976 and 2008, twelve-Kalicharan, Karz, Vidhaata, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Meri Jung, Saudagar, Khal Nayak, Pardes, Taal and Yaadein-were blockbusters, and the others were critically acclaimed. Known for the strong stories, the memorable music and the grandeur of his films, Ghai not only helmed dream-cast multi-starrers but also signed on rank newcomers who went on to become established names in Bollywood. With his innovative thinking, he brought the crowds flocking back to the theatres when video piracy was at its peak, was the first in India to release the music of a film on audio CD and was a pioneer in taking Hindi cinema to global markets. A self-made man who rose to dizzying heights, Ghai proved the adage that destinies are created-and destroyed-every day in the Mumbai film industry. Today he runs Whistling Woods, the country's foremost film institute: his legacy to future generations of filmmakers. Karma's Child, his memoir, written with Suveen Sinha, tells the story of a man who believed he was destined to direct his own future, no less dramatically than a Subhash Ghai film-and did so.