Pallavi Sharma Dixit’s novel Edison is an impressive and moving debut.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the book:
“In this effervescent debut . . . a large cast of endearing characters, including Prem’s roommates and the Bollywood performers he recruits, round out the story, which is enlivened by Dixit’s natural gift for screwball comedy. This romp is one to savor.”
In her own words, here is Pallavi Sharma Dixit’s Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel Edison:
My novel is a love letter to the Indian immigrant community in Edison, New Jersey (where I grew up) but it’s also an ode to Hindi movies (what the world has come to know as “Bollywood”). At first when I was writing, the movies played a tangential role – they were just the main character’s favorite pastime – but along the way the movies took over. How could they not? I tell the story of Prem Kumar using the many hallmarks of the genre he loves: action, drama, comedy, romance, an evil villain, an angry parent and, of course, song and dance. The “filmi” songs that appear in the book are the songs I grew up on, from the Hindi movies of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and they provide the soundtrack of Prem’s star-crossed love for Leena Engineer.
“O Saathi Re” from the movie Muqaddar ka Sikandar – Kishore Kumar
The songs in Bollywood movies, at least the ones I’ve written about in my book, usually feature an actor or actors lip-syncing to a song that has been pre-recorded by what is known in the industry as a playback singer. In this particular instance, the legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan “sings” about how there’s no point in living without his true love. I used a few lines from this song in the epigraph of Edison and they served as a guide, of sorts, as I was writing the book. They reminded me that the essence of Prem was that he was desperate to be with Leena and without her, there was nothing at all.
“Khaike Paan Banaras Wala” Don – Kishore Kumar
No literary homage to Hindi movies would be complete without mention of this 1978 classic, also performed by Amitabh. It is only briefly referenced towards the beginning of the book in relation to Mehboob Studios in Mumbai “where Amitabh Khaike-Paan-ed his way into history,” which, for some, might call to mind the zaniness of the scene and the catchiness of the music. “Khaike Paan” is exuberant, over-the-top, energetic and perfect – an Indian wedding reception dance floor favorite.
“Mehbooba Mehbooba” from the movie Sholay – R.D. Burman
This one appears in Edison when the residents of King’s Court apartments play antakshari, a parlor game in which a team sings the first verse of a song that begins with the (Hindi) consonant on which the opposing team’s song ended. “Mehbooba Mehbooba” is sultry and soulful; a rare instance of playback singing by famed composer R.D. Burman, whose raspy wail makes this song an unforgettable part of one of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood history.
“Ek Do Teen” from the movie Tezaab – Alka Yagnik
It’s hard for me not to get up and dance when I hear this song. It’s just so fun! The actor Madhuri Dixit (no relation) shimmied her way into India’s hearts with her mega-watt smile and tremendous presence when she took the stage in Tezaab (1988) to dance to this number. It’s a catchy, bouncy, upbeat crowd-pleaser with a deceptively simple name – “One Two Three” – about a woman counting the days until her beloved returns. In Edison, a huge crowd gathers in one apartment to watch it together for the first time.
“Papa Kehte Hain” from the movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak – Udit Narayan
One of the song sequences in the book takes place at the United Skates roller-skating rink where the Indian community has rented out the space for a private party, complete with Bollywood music blasting through the speakers. I chose this song as a key component of this scene because its lyrics exactly echo Prem’s plight: a young man’s father has big plans for his future, but the son wants to chase dreams of his own. The subject matter is somewhat weighty, but the music itself is light and jukebox-jingly.
“All My Friends Wanna be Doctors” – Griffen Handshake
While this song does not figure in the book, and is not an Indian song per se (though the band members do have some Indian ancestry), I played it sometimes when writing about Prem’s career crisis. The song, which has a punk rock vibe, describes someone who sees the people around him making sensible career choices while he himself is pulled in another direction. Similar to the previous song on this list, it makes me think about Prem and his successful siblings and his own movie-making dreams. Also, it’s just fun to rock out to.
“Mujhe Neend Na Aaye” from the movie Dil – Udit Narayan and Anuradha Paudwal
Hindi movies have a long, proud history of presenting lovers singing and dancing around trees. While some poke fun at all this tree-romance, others think back on its pervasiveness in classic films with fondness and nostalgia. This song from Dil, a movie that Prem watches in its entirety fifteen nights in a row, is a later example, from 1990, but it’s a classic all the same.
“Din Dhal Jaaye” from the movie Guide – Mohammed Rafi
In Edison, I describe this song as appearing on a “depression-themed mixed tape of [Prem’s] own design” and as “the most hauntingly beautiful and upsetting song he had among his cassette collection.” It’s true, it’s a pretty dispiriting song. But it’s also exquisite, as are the other songs in Guide, based on the novel by R.K. Narayan.
“Chan Chan” – The Gipsy Kings
So, obviously, the Gipsy Kings are not from India. But their cover of this Cuban song was one of the most frequent songs playing in my head when writing the second half of Edison. For me it evoked the mood of a lazy summer afternoon, which helped me to get in the mindset of Prem’s waiting and longing for Leena.
“Bole Chudiyan” from the movie Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham – Amit Kumar, Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam, Kavity Krishnamurthy, Udit Narayan
For many, the term “Bollywood” calls to mind the big budget, glamorous, colorful dance sequences with huge casts of characters that were a staple of 1990s and early 2000s films. “Bole Chudiyan” typifies that brand of spectacular musical number and I just had to include it in Edison.
“Sajna Tere Bina” – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Man, do I love this song. It’s not from Bollywood, but rather from the iconic Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who some consider to be the best singer of all time anywhere. Period. His energetic improvisations combined with his raspy, soaring voice make this song (about not being able to find a moment of peace without one’s beloved) a sublime experience. Though it’s technically a Sufi devotional piece, I carried it in my head throughout the writing process as a reminder of Prem’s profound anguish and ache upon being apart from Leena.
“Mohabbat”– Arooj Aftab
Also not from Bollywood and also in the Sufi devotional tradition, this song was in my head when writing the very last chapters of the book, after learning about it from Barack Obama’s 2021 summer playlist. The Pakistani-born New Yorker’s soulful, controlled and haunting voice evoke a sadness bordering on grief that helped take me to the dark emotional places I needed to go in order to write certain scenes.
“Deewani Mastani” from the movie Bajirao Mastani – Shreya Ghoshal + backup vocalists
At one point during the story, someone asks Prem what he likes about Hindi movies and he thinks about it for a long time. He considers all the elements that come together to create the spicy mix that constitutes the “masala” film. He reflects on how he often “left theaters feeling that the world contained too much beauty to bear, that the characters were larger than life – and thus he could be too.” I wrote this line after seeing the film Bajirao Mastani on the big screen. The film – and especially this song – combine grandeur, opulence, elegance, history and yearning into a big stunning spectacle. Though I was not a fan of the film’s plot, I left the theater loving Bollywood more than ever.
Pallavi Sharma Dixit holds a BA and an MA (history) from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and others. She was a winner of the Asian American Writers Workshop’s Pages in Progress Prize and one of three winners of the First Pages Prize in fiction for Edison, her debut novel. She has taught creative writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband, two children, and their dog. She grew up in Edison and frequently visits the town, where her parents still reside.