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  • A Bollywood Affair

  • By: Sonali Dev
  • Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
  • Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (66 ratings)

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A Bollywood Affair cover art

A Bollywood Affair

By: Sonali Dev
Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
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Summary

In the tradition of Shobhan Bantwal's successful Indian American novels, Sonali Dev's debut captures the colorful spirit and fascinating details of Indian and Bollywood culture - including a lavish wedding - while delivering an emotionally layered and accessible story.

Mili Rathod has been bound by marriage since she was four years old. But when her husband shows no sign of claiming her after 20 years of waiting, Mili grabs the chance to leave India and come to America on a scholarship.

Playboy filmmaker Samir "Sam" Rathod is Bollywood's favorite bad boy. He'll do anything for his big brother - even travel halfway across the globe to take care of the "wife" who just crawled out of his brother's past. Yet Mili isn't the simple village girl Sam expected. She's a whirlwind who sucks him into her roommate's elaborate elopement and soon has him drowning in her onyx eyes. And though Mili fancies herself in love with his big brother, the husband she has never met, Sam is hoping for a very different ending.

©2014 Sonali Dev (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

What listeners say about A Bollywood Affair

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow!

For me this is the perfect type of romance novel. I loved it. I took all sorts of sneaky opportunities to listen to it. It was beautiful, funny, sad and heartwarming. If I wrote romances, I would have wanted to have written this one.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

💕💕💕

I loved every romantic minute of it. Great characters. I felt I was in the story with them.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Excessive use of curse words. Colourist

was supposed to be a light read to lull me to sleep most nights. predictable story line but was shocked by the excessive cursing.
The writer must have tried real hard to insert one in every line. So childish.

And the emphasis on light skin was disturbing.

I'm just glad this was in the plus catalogue so free.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slow basic story

Got a little boring in parts. Narrator needs more emotion.
Too slow, no real story

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it. Didn't want it to end

On my quest to read more POC authors I stumbled on this book. THe story is steeped in Indian Culture and stays true to its roots whether it is in India or the US. Usually books, written by non POC authors, centred around Indian characters can be a stereotypical and cold but this one is so far from that. That comes from the author being of the same culture as the main characters.

The book is open, hearty and engaging. The characters are relatable, even the ones that aren't that nice as so well written. This is an honest telling of love and all its complications including those that culture brings to the table.

This book and my ability to slip between its pages so easily further underlines my belief that I need to read more POC stories. The connections I form to them through the cultural touchpoints cannot be underestimated.

All my notes for this book were "I need to read more" - more of this book and more of this author. I love this book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Just like a Bollywood drama!

Nice story with dramatic characters full of humour- narration was good but lacking in certain parts- overall very entertaining and an easy listen

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I just loved this. The narrator was absolutely brilliant. Didn’t want it to end. Lovely.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Stellar performance

The performer was brilliant! The story was good too, but I kept listening because of her. Doing all the voices and accents brought life to the story and was very engaging.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Passionate and beautiful

Loved the story and the characters. The narrator brought them alive and I was sucked in

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Long

Well narrated, good characterisation, I stuck with it to the end, although the ending was very predictable. Would benefit from being abridged.

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  • pujabberwocky
  • 26-06-15

Incredibly Frustrating for Hindi Speakers.

I've never been this disappointed in an audiobook. The narrator mispronounced 90% of the Hindi words to the point where it actually pulled me out of the story. If you speak Hindi or anything Hindi adjacent, be prepared to grit your teeth constantly.

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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Robin
  • 10-01-15

Just average

I generally enjoy reading books by Indian authors. Best I can say about this one, though, is that it was an average read. With the exception of a few chapters, most move too slowly, with much repetition of old stereotypes. I would skip this one.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Sharron
  • 26-02-18

Zero rating

Overall disrespect of women
Narration poor
Story plot jumps around
Rating is zero
Credit back?

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • shabbyarora
  • 18-05-21

3 stars and I'm being generous

Coming from India, I've been Overdosed with Bombay Masala Film Industry and seen it all from classics to cheesy with boring, funny, hilarious and ridiculous in between, I can definitely say I'm a somewhat well versed reviewer of anything india related. The story, for any non-indian would be Oh-So-sweet serendipitous love. It somehow, fell way too short for me. It's sad that in India authors are getting smarter and mature, while authors of Indian descent, living abroad are rehashing old bollywood drama in the hopes that the non-expatriates won't notice or make the connection Of the characters, they had no chemistry and/or vitality. The cardboard cutouts of 2 dimensional caricatures. The old adages have been dragged through mud, clichéd lines and ideologies which are in process of refreshing metamorphosis in good ol' India are somehow hung up to dry in the book. The best comparison would be a dish frozen in 1990s bollywood, is microwaved and dished now. 3 stars and that's too generous

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Diana Pearson
  • 11-09-20

A predictable folly full of soap bubbles

I enjoyed the narrator, and that is about it. I have to write six more words. There, that should do it.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • DK
  • 20-02-18

I Tried& Tried But Just Could Not Follow This Book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I think that it may have been too complicated/complex for me to follow. So strip down and streamline the plot. That would be my recommendation.

What do you think your next listen will be?

A contemporary romance.

What three words best describe Priya Ayyar’s performance?

Heavily accented English

Could you see A Bollywood Affair being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Perhaps I could see a Bollywood affair being made into a movie or a mini TV series. I have no idea who I would suggest for acting in it.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book and to follow the journey of all of the characters. However, after many tries to start at the beginning and follow along, I just wasn't successful.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review. If you found it helpful, would you take a moment and select the helpful' button below? I also invite you to follow me on Audible to read, vote on and share my reviews.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Joy
  • 24-06-19

Bit Dull

It was hard getting through this one, but I wanted to keep going just in case it got better.

It didn't. The story was stale, predictable, and unrealistic. The luscious amount of detail and the reader's great voicing of it saved it a bit, but the story itself was a chore to get to the end.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 15-07-16

So-so

The narrator was pretty dull and mostly monotone. There were a few mispronounced words as well. The story was predictable, but is good for an easy beach listen.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • B J Heintz
  • 01-06-15

A Bollywood Affair Review

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, once I got through the beginning, I really liked the book.

What other book might you compare A Bollywood Affair to and why?

Nothing comes to mind. Original in my library.

Have you listened to any of Priya Ayyar’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Though I got angry at both Mili and Samir at times for not telling each other who they were,I was rooting for the two of them all along.

Any additional comments?

It started out slow for me. I loved the Hindi narrator, but there were so many names (unusual to my ears) that it was hard to keep track of them all. Overall I enjoyed the story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Savannah
  • 18-12-14

Better than chocolate!

Would you listen to A Bollywood Affair again? Why?

One of the best books I've read in 2014! A Bollywood Affair is like a chocolate truffle, meant to be devoured slowly, purposefully, each word, each phrase, melting into you and becoming one with your soul, leaving you feeling warm and satisfied.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Bollywood Affair?

"You stole the words from my heart."

What does Priya Ayyar bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Priya brings Mili to life!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

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3 people found this helpful

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