Alfred Hitchcock on the sets (left) A still from ‘Psycho’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most popular filmmakers of all time and has been analysed and written about in hundreds of books worldwide. 2024 was his 125th birth anniversary and 2025 marks 100 years of his directorial debut The Pleasure Garden. Cinephiles and students of cinema have one more reason to celebrate with the launch of a new book Master of Suspense: Hitchcock, in Telugu. Featuring 60-plus essays, Master of Suspense explores Hitchcock cinema by revisiting each of his films through the eyes of 45 Telugu filmmakers, 10 journalists and seven writers. Compiled and edited by journalist and writer Pulagam Chinnarayana, the anthology is a collaborative project with senior civil servant Ravi Padi.
How it started
Book cover
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
On a visit to Telugu director Vamsi’s house in 2018, Pulagam was enthralled to see the walls adorned with Hitchcock movie posters and quotes such as “To make a great film, you need three things; the script, the script, the script.” While the discussion with Vamsi on different aspects of cinema remained with him, the idea of a book on Hitchcock took shape in 2022 when he used the pandemic time to read voraciously and binge-watch movies of producer/director Vittalacharya (he has also released a book Jai Vittalacharya in 2023) and Alfred Hitchcock. He recollects, “I wondered if social contacts affected by the pandemic will lead to a world where only Hitchcock-kind of films are made, in one location and with a small budget.”
This thought eventually inspired him to launch a book presenting the perspectives of different filmmakers on Hitchcock. “I didn’t want to write it only with my outlook; The idea is to celebrate Hitchcock movies and explore many viewpoints.”
Pulgam Chinnarayana and Ravi Padi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
While essays on Hitchcock’s nine silent films are written by senior film writer ML Narasimham, directors such as Singeetam Sreenivasa Rao, Vamsi, Puri Jagannath, Harish Shankar and Indraganti Mohanakrishna contribute a chapter each to explore different nuances of Hitchcock’s craft, focusing on one movie at a time. The book also features special articles by comedian Gundu Sudarshan Rao, documentary filmmaker and professor Indraganti Kiranmayee, writers Gopi Mohan, Satyanand and Dasharad, critic VAK Ranga Rao and producer MS Raju. Senior civil servant Ravi Padi’s background stories provide interesting anecdotes and tidbits.
Priced at ₹650, the 528-page book took two years to complete and was launched in December 2024 coinciding with the just-concluded Hyderabad Book Fair. The book will be displayed at the 35th Vijayawada Book Festival from January 2-12 at Government Polytechnic College. “We are happy with the overwhelming response as 500 copies of the first edition are sold out and the second edition is on its way,” says Pulagam, who has written 10 books till now.
With its comprehensive overview on Hitchcock’s movies, Pulagam hopes the book serves as a guide for cinema lovers and budding filmmakers.
Master of Suspense: Hitchcock is available for sale online.
Published – January 01, 2025 03:17 pm IST
