Raj Khosla

The 1940s witnessed the scripting of an origin story that would go down in the books. A young man was signed on by Guru Dutt as assistant director after eager assurances of his competency in Hindi, a white lie that was soon unmasked.

This was Raj Khosla, an aspiring playback singer, eager to get a foot in the door any which way. In a plot twist he would have approved of, he became instead a filmmaker who made a habit of hits, routinely setting the box office on fire.

He made taut thrillers (C.I.D.), family dramas (Do Raaste), timeless romances (Do Badan) and action spectacles (Dostana). Few filmmakers have demonstrated such versatility and command over their craft. He was behind some of Hindi cinema''s most enduring soundtracks, from ''Lag ja gale'' to ''Jhumka gira re'' to ''Jaane kya baat hai''. Yet, Raj''s legacy remains confined to the odd footnote.

Through interviews with family, friends and coworkers - including Asha Bhosle, Waheeda Rehman, Mumtaz, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar, Prem Chopra, Bindu, Mahesh Bhatt and Aamir Khan - this biography addresses this glaring gap in the history of Bollywood. Examining Raj Khosla''s work, it reveals a director and a man who was as talented and sensitive as he was flawed. The result is a tender treatment that lays bare a caring employer, a Napoleon fanboy, a maudlin soul who wore his heart on his sleeve, a passionate lover of music, and a man who transformed Hindi cinema.