The latest in the world of books, movies and music

Susan Muthalaly

Publishers do brisk business, A.R. Rahman's `Sivaji' tops the charts
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CHENNAI: Chennaiites can't resist relationship advice, going by the number of copies of Leil Lowndes `How to Talk to Anyone; 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships', sold in the last month.

Leading bookstores in Chennai quote Michael Crichton's racy new thriller, `Next', as top of the fiction charts. It is a rather cerebral plot involving the USA's attitude towards gene patents from the author of Jurassic Park.

Another popular title is Paulo Coelho's `The Witch of Portobello' about an intriguing girl Athena with the power of prophecy.

Sale of Jhumpa Lahiri's `The Namesake' was given a boost after the film of the same name by Mira Nair hit the screens. The publishers have introduced a new book incorporating the film format.

However, `Circle of Light' by Kiranjit Ahluwalia had no such luck, perhaps a reflection of Jag Mundhra's `Provoked' starring Aishwarya Rai.

William Dalrymple's `The Last Mughal' is now available in paperback, and this has increased the sales. Cormac McCarthy's `The Road' (recommended by the highly influential Oprah's Book Club) too is now available at Rs.195 from the hardback Rs.546.

Pre-bookings for Harry Potter have dipped after the initial excitement. At Landmark, Spencer Plaza, they have received 230 orders, and expect another rush closer to July.

In music, no surprises. A.R. Rahman's music for the film `Sivaji' has the highest sales.

CDs in demand

Interestingly, there is more demand for CDs than cassettes even though cassettes come at a fraction of the price of the CDs.

Harris Jeyaraj's music in `Unnale Unnale' too is doing brisk business. In Hindi, Adnan Sami's new album `Kisi Din' tops the charts.

As for films, Tamil classics `Baasha' and `Gauravam' continue to do good sales thanks to Moser Baer's irresistibly priced home videos.

In English, `Happy Feet' is doing happy business at the billing counter.

(The Hindu: 28:05:2007)
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