The Bollywood Bride

August 3, 2015
Dev (A Bollywood Affair) replaces true connection with overdone drama in this middling contemporary romance. Bollywood star Ria, who lives and works in Mumbai, returns to Chicago for the first time in 10 years for her cousin’s wedding. There she meets Vikram, with whom she was in a serious relationship as an adolescent, and the two of them have to deal with the brutal way Ria broke up with him at the start of her film career. Ria had reasons beyond the attractions of stardom to consider herself ineligible for a relationship, and those reasons intrude between the two as they rekindle their romance. The cultural details of Mumbai and of Chicago’s Indian immigrant community are well-handled, and the book’s attitude toward mental illness is an interesting cross between Indian and American social norms. But a lack of real communication between the lovers renders the plot unbelievable, and it never acquires any emotional weight.

Starred review from August 15, 2015
When Bollywood star Ria Parkar returns to Chicago for her cousin's wedding after having been away for 10 years, she must face Vikram, the boy she abandoned, who believes she chose a life of wealth and fame over him. As a child, Ria savored summers at her beloved Aunt Uma's home in Chicago, spent with her cousin Nikhil and his cousin Vikram. She and Vikram both considered Uma's home a refuge, but when they fell in love as teens, Vikram's successful mother made it clear her plans for her son definitely didn't include Ria, the tainted daughter of a family with a history of mental illness. Self-possessed even at 18, Vikram was ready to claim her, but that was before the shameful family tragedy that compelled Ria to turn her back on their love to protect him, allowing him to believe her capable of betrayal in order to follow fame and fortune with a Bollywood career. Now, a decade later, traveling back to Chicago for Nikhil's wedding is a minefield of memories, both good and bad, and a reminder of what normal looks like after superstardom in India. Navigating her wounded heart, her Ice Princess facade, a nearly forgotten sea of family love from her childhood, and an angry, beloved boy-turned-man who both wants her and hates her make for a complicated trip, especially once the secrets bubble to the surface, threatening her career and her happiness. Vikram has always been the boy who rescued her, but maybe the time has come for her to confront the past and save them both. Dev's exquisitely written second novel seamlessly integrates the explosive tension of Ria and Vikram's love story with the universal complications of family, identity, and feeling like an outsider, even in your own skin. The modern Indian-American setting offers a glimpse of a rich culture and enhances the book's overt and subtle messages of love, compassion, hope, and common ground. A bright, beautiful gem.

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October 1, 2015

The author of A Bollywood Affair is back. Set mostly in Chicago, with side trips to Mumbai, this new novel may appeal equally to non-Indian readers and Indian Americans. The beautiful Ria Parkar is famous for playing brides in Bollywood extravaganzas. Off camera, she is cool and aloof and won't let anyone get too close. The romantic lead in this novel is Ria's childhood friend Vikram, who is tall, handsome, successful, and devoted to Ria. She keeps rebuffing him, even though she is clearly very much in love. Her puzzling behavior is the fault of inner anxiety, stemming from dark family secrets she has tried to hide for years. These are gradually revealed as Ria gains the courage to face the demons in her past. VERDICT For those who like substance with their steamy romance, this novel is both a sexy love story and an exploration of how a tormented young woman learns to overcome family turmoil and look forward to a future with the man she loves.--Leslie Patterson, Rehoboth, MA

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