India, Oct. 14 -- From print to celluloid to stage, 'Saangtye Aika' ('Listen to my story'), a riveting autobiography of Hansa Wadkar, the renowned film actor of the 1940s and tamasha artiste, has come a long way.

The book, the first in Marathi to hold up the mirror to the world of cinema to reveal its seamier side, in sheer contradiction to its show of glamour, hasn't lost its equity in over five decades since it rolled out of a modest printing press in Pune under the banner of Rajhans Prakashan helmed by then editor-publisher S G Majgaokar who was known for his modern and inclusive views.

While Shyam Benegal turned 'Saangtye Aika' into 'Bhumika' ('The role') -- the Smita Patil-Amol Palekar-Anant Nag-Naseeruddin Shah-Amrish Puri starrer...