Celebrating the centenary of Akira Kurosawa last year, Donald Richie, the noted writer on Japanese films, observed that Kurosawa believed that he existed only through his films. "Take 'myself,' subtract 'movies,' and the result is "zero,' " he once wrote.
According to Richie, author of the seminal book "The Films of Akira Kurosawa," the auteur became interested in his project only when he was assured that it was going to be about his films, not his personality.
A similar sentiment emerges from "Adoor Gopalakrishnan: A Life in Cinema," a book on one of India's most celebrated filmmakers. Its author Gautaman Bhaskaran, a veteran film critic and journalist, devotes half the book to the 11 works of Adoor, starting with "Swayamvaram" (One's Own Choice), which became an instant success in 1972.