The trigger for this publication was the lone newspaper advertisement, relating to the legendary singer-actor K.L. Saigal’s appearance in person on 25th & 26th December, 1937 at the All India Exhibition Variety Theatre in Minto Park (now Iqbal Park) Lahore, which has been floating around on the internet for quite a few years and the total absence of other newspaper clippings covering his classic movies.

For the very first time, several hundred images, covering cinema hall advertisements, film news, photos and reviews, drawn from archives of historical newspapers, have been compiled to present a vivid picture of K.L. Saigal, the first ‘Superstar of Indian cinema, and his ‘block-buster movies, from the perspective of a contemporary newspaper reader.