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Skin Deep
A fiery news reporter, Simran went undercover as a contestant in a pageant to expose the dark underbelly of the beauty business. But little did she know that she was being used as a pawn in a much bigger game.
A seemingly acquiescent girl, Sania fought against patriarchal forces within her family and community to fulfil her dream of becoming a model.
A media baron’s daughter, Sunidhi was at a vantage point in life but she frittered it all away with her entitlement.
On the other hand, Shikha, who came from a humble background, used her body as a currency to get ahead.
In a world that has commoditized femininity and idealized only one body type, Skin Deep is the story of four girls with diametrically different views about beauty and how their lives get inextricably enmeshed. They all get a rude awakening when a shocking incident reveals how the big bad world of ‘glamour in the buds’ breeds cradle snatchers, who are ready to devour anything.
Inspired by true incidents, Skin Deep shines a light on the ugly truth behind the facade of beauty
and glamour...
A seemingly acquiescent girl, Sania fought against patriarchal forces within her family and community to fulfil her dream of becoming a model.
A media baron’s daughter, Sunidhi was at a vantage point in life but she frittered it all away with her entitlement.
On the other hand, Shikha, who came from a humble background, used her body as a currency to get ahead.
In a world that has commoditized femininity and idealized only one body type, Skin Deep is the story of four girls with diametrically different views about beauty and how their lives get inextricably enmeshed. They all get a rude awakening when a shocking incident reveals how the big bad world of ‘glamour in the buds’ breeds cradle snatchers, who are ready to devour anything.
Inspired by true incidents, Skin Deep shines a light on the ugly truth behind the facade of beauty
and glamour...
280 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 21, 2019
🔖Book - Skin Deep
🔖Author - Ajay Monga
🔖Publisher - Rupa Publications
🔖Blurb - Four girls from diametrically different world views find their lives inextricably enmshed in the glamorous beauty industry. In this largely patriarchal society these girls try to find their individual voices and challenge the system that suppresses them. Until a shocking incident shakes their very foundations of their lives and makes them face the ugly reality.
🔖Review - Unputdownable and Exhilarating
📌Plot - The plot of the story is very well crafted and masterfully narrated.
-The story is fast paced and is quite interesting and exciting too.
-Mystery and suspense elements add to the reader's interest.
- The plot is totally unpredictable and the unexpected twists and turns keep the readers hooked till the end.
- Through his work the author provides us an insight into the beauty industry and tries to scrape the real underbelly of this ugly beauty business.
📌Character Potrayl - All the characters are very well etched especially the character portrayal ofthe women characters seems quite powerful and promising.
📌Language - The story is told in a simple and easily understandable language.
- Apt and potent words have been used throughout the story.
📌Cover and Title - The cover of the book is meticulously and thoughtfully designed.
- The title too seems appropriate and goes well with the plot.
📌Special Point - The exploitation that young girls undergo in a bid to gain fame and money has been appreciativly depicted. - The author also lays emphasis on the often quoted line 'Beauty is skin deep and ugly to the bone. '
- The author has also criticized the way women are perceived in our society at large and the vicious mentality of the people steeped in patriarchy.
- The writing style of the author is highly convincing and commendable here and I would love to read more from him.
Highly recommended for all those who are looking for a thoughtful read.
🔖Author - Ajay Monga
🔖Publisher - Rupa Publications
🔖Blurb - Four girls from diametrically different world views find their lives inextricably enmshed in the glamorous beauty industry. In this largely patriarchal society these girls try to find their individual voices and challenge the system that suppresses them. Until a shocking incident shakes their very foundations of their lives and makes them face the ugly reality.
🔖Review - Unputdownable and Exhilarating
📌Plot - The plot of the story is very well crafted and masterfully narrated.
-The story is fast paced and is quite interesting and exciting too.
-Mystery and suspense elements add to the reader's interest.
- The plot is totally unpredictable and the unexpected twists and turns keep the readers hooked till the end.
- Through his work the author provides us an insight into the beauty industry and tries to scrape the real underbelly of this ugly beauty business.
📌Character Potrayl - All the characters are very well etched especially the character portrayal ofthe women characters seems quite powerful and promising.
📌Language - The story is told in a simple and easily understandable language.
- Apt and potent words have been used throughout the story.
📌Cover and Title - The cover of the book is meticulously and thoughtfully designed.
- The title too seems appropriate and goes well with the plot.
📌Special Point - The exploitation that young girls undergo in a bid to gain fame and money has been appreciativly depicted. - The author also lays emphasis on the often quoted line 'Beauty is skin deep and ugly to the bone. '
- The author has also criticized the way women are perceived in our society at large and the vicious mentality of the people steeped in patriarchy.
- The writing style of the author is highly convincing and commendable here and I would love to read more from him.
Highly recommended for all those who are looking for a thoughtful read.
June 27, 2019
Skin Deep.
~
Thank you for sending the review copy @rupa_publications.
~
Skin Deep is a book about the glittery facade that beauty pageants portray to the world. Ajay Monga has been a well known scriptwriter and film director so it's no surprise that the book has a very Bollywoodesque feeling to it. In this book he tries to show the grim and dirty activities that goes behind closed doors of the entertainment industry. Having said that, this book failed to impress me in any way possible. Continue reading to know why.
~
Skin Deep is a concoction of stories that are split between many girls who try their hand at winning a beauty pageant. It's not very often that I say this, but I detested this book. It's crude but not in a way that Bukowski writes. My skin prickled with every chapter that I read. In the story we have a Journalist who goes undercover to reveal the ugly truth of a pageant where she befriends couple of girls including the one who wins the title. As shown in many Bollywood movies, the girls are involved in drugs and sexual activities to favour their results. There are other stories which helps in developing the characters but I liked none of them. Shikha, who sleeps with her friend's father and literally anyone who can help her or Simran who's a journalist and later decides to not air the sting op or Sunidhi who's a daughter of an influential businessman, addicted to drugs with a bad mouth. I liked none.
~
The book could have been polished but I somehow think that the author wanted it to be drafted this way to show the cruel world. This book objectifies women though there were ample number of ways in which he could have made a point of showing that entertainment industries have a dark side to it. I did not like the language, characters, storyline and the execution style.
~
Rating - 1/5.
~
Thank you for sending the review copy @rupa_publications.
~
Skin Deep is a book about the glittery facade that beauty pageants portray to the world. Ajay Monga has been a well known scriptwriter and film director so it's no surprise that the book has a very Bollywoodesque feeling to it. In this book he tries to show the grim and dirty activities that goes behind closed doors of the entertainment industry. Having said that, this book failed to impress me in any way possible. Continue reading to know why.
~
Skin Deep is a concoction of stories that are split between many girls who try their hand at winning a beauty pageant. It's not very often that I say this, but I detested this book. It's crude but not in a way that Bukowski writes. My skin prickled with every chapter that I read. In the story we have a Journalist who goes undercover to reveal the ugly truth of a pageant where she befriends couple of girls including the one who wins the title. As shown in many Bollywood movies, the girls are involved in drugs and sexual activities to favour their results. There are other stories which helps in developing the characters but I liked none of them. Shikha, who sleeps with her friend's father and literally anyone who can help her or Simran who's a journalist and later decides to not air the sting op or Sunidhi who's a daughter of an influential businessman, addicted to drugs with a bad mouth. I liked none.
~
The book could have been polished but I somehow think that the author wanted it to be drafted this way to show the cruel world. This book objectifies women though there were ample number of ways in which he could have made a point of showing that entertainment industries have a dark side to it. I did not like the language, characters, storyline and the execution style.
~
Rating - 1/5.
February 27, 2020
Skin Deep is the story of 4 girls from different walks of life and how they get embroiled in certain controversies surrounding the glamorous world and the beauty industry.
Simran is an investigative journalist who is working undercover. Shika is a girl from a humble background and is determined to make money and fame. Sania is a progressive girl from an orthodox background and Sunidhi is the daughter of a wealthy media baron.
All 4 are participants in a certain beauty pageant. Things do not go as planned and spiral into an ugly fiasco. Each one discovers that they have been made a pawn in a dirty game.
Written in an unabashed manner, the author exposes the dark side of the beauty industry. In this complex plot, he has showcased fundamentalism, power of media, drugs, molestation, greed, deceit and power. Beauty, no doubt is the central theme here. It makes readers ponder about what is it that exactly constitutes as beautiful.
Thought provoking, appalling and hard hitting, 'Skin Deep' mirrors reality. Not surprising as the author Ajay Monga is also the writer of critically acclaimed films like Fashion and Corporate.
Reading this book makes you feel that you are watching a Madhur Bhandarkar film where the truth is stranger than fiction.
December 24, 2024
3.5 rounded up
June 29, 2019
Caution: No spoilers ahead.
I took to this book on a friend's recommendation and could not drop it until I read it till the end. I was told that the author was the writer of films like Fashion and Corporate, and I expected Skin Deep to be another sneak peek into a new world. I wasn't disappointed. I found it holding a mirror to the dark appalling secrets of the beauty industry. Even transcending that it bared the hypocrisy related to female objectification that plagues our society. But what really impressed me is how effortlessly such a heavy subject has been delivered. It never becomes preachy, but follows the lives of very real characters from different walks of life in delving deep into the subject. Take for example Sunidhi, a brat who thinks she can buy anything with the power and money of her business tycoon dad. Or you can take Sania, who fights the chauvinists and religious bigots of her community to achieve her dreams. There's also the frivolous Sikha and the Lady with a purpose Simran.
Each of them is a shade of grey, just like it is in real life. Everybody has their own reasons of doing what they are.
Lastly, the treatment kept me glued to the book. Each chapter would leave me curious to read the next to know more. Above all the language is so easy going that it is like an everyday conversation.
N.B.: There are certain plot twists that will take you completely unaware.
And, other than bookworms I think I would recommend it to any of you who has an interest in the beauty industry. It will give you a front row view of that world.
I took to this book on a friend's recommendation and could not drop it until I read it till the end. I was told that the author was the writer of films like Fashion and Corporate, and I expected Skin Deep to be another sneak peek into a new world. I wasn't disappointed. I found it holding a mirror to the dark appalling secrets of the beauty industry. Even transcending that it bared the hypocrisy related to female objectification that plagues our society. But what really impressed me is how effortlessly such a heavy subject has been delivered. It never becomes preachy, but follows the lives of very real characters from different walks of life in delving deep into the subject. Take for example Sunidhi, a brat who thinks she can buy anything with the power and money of her business tycoon dad. Or you can take Sania, who fights the chauvinists and religious bigots of her community to achieve her dreams. There's also the frivolous Sikha and the Lady with a purpose Simran.
Each of them is a shade of grey, just like it is in real life. Everybody has their own reasons of doing what they are.
Lastly, the treatment kept me glued to the book. Each chapter would leave me curious to read the next to know more. Above all the language is so easy going that it is like an everyday conversation.
N.B.: There are certain plot twists that will take you completely unaware.
And, other than bookworms I think I would recommend it to any of you who has an interest in the beauty industry. It will give you a front row view of that world.
July 10, 2019
Ajay Monga's Skin Deep is a nice, entertaining read. It is the story of the women who are the face of the glamour world, and the men who exploit them and run the show business. The story begins with a beauty pageant. While the reader gets an impression that this story is about the contest the result of which will be declared at the climax, we get to know who wins the crown petty soon.
This is story of four friends too. Like all friends they fight and make up. Most importantly they stand together for a cause. The book contains some beautiful lines like
You use the latest iPhone to be with the times, but what about changing your outdated mentality? The latest technology suits your needs, so you parade it around like an emblem of your modernity. But where it really matters – like giving freedom to your daughters or treating them equally – you behave like a cave man. Your kind exists in all communities, riding the horse of orthodoxy to trample on women and instil fear in their minds. You will commit atrocious acts just to make sure patriarchy prevails, not only today but forever.
The book has some mistakes to. For example the following line on page 11.
He had to dies so he died.
Yet the book is a decent read. This story is different from those which we have seen in Madhur Bhandarkar's movies, which are penned by the same author. Hence, this book has to be on your book shelves.
This is story of four friends too. Like all friends they fight and make up. Most importantly they stand together for a cause. The book contains some beautiful lines like
You use the latest iPhone to be with the times, but what about changing your outdated mentality? The latest technology suits your needs, so you parade it around like an emblem of your modernity. But where it really matters – like giving freedom to your daughters or treating them equally – you behave like a cave man. Your kind exists in all communities, riding the horse of orthodoxy to trample on women and instil fear in their minds. You will commit atrocious acts just to make sure patriarchy prevails, not only today but forever.
The book has some mistakes to. For example the following line on page 11.
He had to dies so he died.
Yet the book is a decent read. This story is different from those which we have seen in Madhur Bhandarkar's movies, which are penned by the same author. Hence, this book has to be on your book shelves.
September 7, 2019
Oscar Wilde once said that fashion is a form of ugliness that is so intolerable that it has to be altered every six months. Skin Deep proves this right-both metaphorically and literally. The story traces the lives of four young and ravishing women who can go the extra mile to become successful in their respective fields. While the majority of the story is set in the fashion industry, one part of it also exposes the stark reality behind journalism and the compromises that come along in that field as well.
A probing look into the ever-evolving fashion industry, ‘Skin Deep’ is a compelling read that exposes the truth behind the facade of struggle, beauty and passion. Known to be an industry that never fails to top the ‘trending’ charts, the Fashion industry is an industry that always has the largest number of controversies associated with it.
Read the complete review here: https://aliveshadow.com/category-book...
July 1, 2019
Skin Deep is a phenomenal fictional account of four girls, consumed by the beauty pageantry business, set in the iconic city of Mumbai. The language is extremely easy to read, while the subject matter really gives one something to think about. The book is written by Ajay Monga, the script writer for Fashion, and Corporate, and this book is yet another deep dive into the grime that plagues this particular industry. Not for the faint hearted, Skin Deep deals with real, hard hitting ideas that truly make the reader stop and think about the ongoings in the country. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who is looking for something gripping, and very real, even though it is fiction. Kudos to Ajay Monga for another exposé of an industry many want to get into, but few actually can.
July 8, 2019
One of the most Riveting books I have come across by an Indian author. I have met these characters in real life courtesy my ex girlfriend who was a model. An incident very similar to Sunidhi's character happened with my ex's closest friend. She was caught in the dragnet of a drug dealer. Each and every character and the situation they find themselves in, is real. Absolutely a must read.
September 11, 2019
What a delightful piece of writing! Skin Deep is unlike any book by an Indian author. Weaving many themes from the soci0-cultural, to business, to family and personal relationships, this book is difficult to put down. The characters are well developed and highly relatable. The plot is richly built, enjoyable at times, difficult at others. Can't wait to read more by this author!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews