Bollywood Nights

Bollywood is no place for a vulnerable, small-town girl like Aasha Rani. But that doesn't stop her mother from pushing her into a world of exploitation and bedroom casting calls. Aasha has no choice but to thrive-despite the vicious circles of starlets, pimps, and celebrities who want to see her meet her end.

But the day she meets Bollywood's leading man, everything she's worked so hard for is jeopardized. Because she may be falling for Akshay Arora-and there's no room for love in a business where it's the stranger under your sheets holding the key to your success. With her innocence stolen and nowhere else to turn, Aasha knows her downfall could come as quickly as her rise to fame. And letting herself love might just be the most fatal career move of her life...

Bollywood is no place for a vulnerable, small-town girl like Aasha Rani. But that doesn't stop her mother from pushing her into a world of exploitation and bedroom casting calls. Aasha has no choice but to thrive-despite the vicious circles of starlets, pimps, and celebrities who want to see her meet her end.

But the day she meets Bollywood's leading man, everything she's worked so hard for is jeopardized. Because she may be falling for Akshay Arora-and there's no room for love in a business where it's the stranger under your sheets holding the key to your success. With her innocence stolen and nowhere else to turn, Aasha knows her downfall could come as quickly as her rise to fame. And letting herself love might just be the most fatal career move of her life...

Publishers Weekly

Dé's sari-ripper stars fictional Bollywood sensation Aasha Rani, a former poor Madras girl who survived years of abuse, abandonment and the underage porno filmi industry. Her relationship with a married superstar, the anything-but-heroic Akshay Arora, sends Aasha running off to New Zealand, where she marries someone else, returns to India, endures more heartache, jets to London-and finally comes to understand her issues and face her destiny. The Bollywood detail is reminiscent of Jackie Collins's best Hollywood fiction (Dé has been called India's Jackie Collins), but this steamy saga also includes a bright bindi flash of spirituality that is uniquely Dé. (June)

Shobhaa Dé, India's most renowned columnist, is the founder and editor of three magazines and the bestselling author of 13 novels. She lives in Bombay with her six children and husband.