The Act of Life is a 2006 autobiography about the Indian theatre and film actor Amrish Puri. Co-authored by Puri himself with Jyoti Sabharwal, the book chronicles his birth in 1932 and his 38-year-long theatrical and film career. The book was published on 24 May 2006 by Stellar Publishers, and critics were generally appreciative to the book.
 Book cover | |
| Author |
|
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Amrish Puri |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Published | 24 May 2006 |
| Publisher | Stellar Publishers |
| Publication place | India |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 407[1] |
| ISBN | 978-81-90224-74-1 |
| OCLC | 608443071 |
Development and release
The Act of Life (which was written by the Indian theatre and film actor Amrish Puri along with Jyoti Sabharwal and previously titled Act One)[2] was released by Stellar Publishers on 24 May 2006, one year after the actor's death, at the Oxford Bookstore in Churchgate.[1]:iv[3] The filmmaker Girish Karnad described it as "one of ... rare autobiographies written by a craftsman that showed no trace if self-indulgence".[4] After reading the book, the actor Anupam Kher (who was Puri's close friend) admitted that he felt nostalgic.[3]
The book met with positive critical reviews. V. Gangadhar from The Hindu wrote: "The Act of Life comes from the heart; one can condone the Punjabi-English. But it is an important work on the Indian stage and cinema and the excellent photographs are additional plus points."[5] Another articles by an anonymous writer from the same publication called it "a graphic account of his struggle to the top".[2] In his column for India Today, the critic and film director Khalid Mohamed thought that the autobiography "makes the actor's rigidity more than palpable".[6]
Publication history
| Region | Release date | Format | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 24 May 2006 | Hardcover | [3] |
| 18 June 2013 | Amazon Kindle | [7] |