For us Indians, Bollywood is about film stars, Mumbai and everything in between. It's a different world altogether where happy endings do exist. For former drummer and an actor Mark Bennington, who moved from New York to Mumbai, Bollywood and Hindi Cinema was a new concept. A PTI report quoted Mark saying, "Prior to coming here, I had never even seen a Bollywood film. My first trip to India was in 2010 and like every tourist, I traveled North and went to Jaipur. Then, I just happened to come to Bombay. I had just turned 40 and I wanted to do something different."

After doing photography for brands and some other corporates, he asked his friend for help and he suggested him to go to Bandra, where he will find actors. He said, "That's really how it started. It was born out of very genuine, innocent curiosity of the acting community."

And this curiosity has now taken shape of Mark's new book, that consist of photographs and interviews of 112 Bollywood stars. Talking about Bollywood, he said,

“Things are different here.The acting community in Bollywood works like a family...a tight-knit family. Obviously, in a family, you have brothers and sisters who at times love to hate each other. But, nonetheless, they know they are a family."

The book Living the Dream: Life of the ‘Bollywood’ Actor promised to tell all of us the “story of many, that only a few know”. In case you are as excited as Mark was, before he started his journey for exploring Bollywood, here are some of Mark's best photographs.

1. Abhay Deol enjoying his chai break at a promo shoot in Mumbai.

MARK BENNINGTON

2. Alia Bhatt enjoying her hearty laughter before her shot

MARK BENNINGTON

3. Arjun Kapoor, during one of his readings.

MARK BENNINGTON

4. Deepika Padukone rehearsing for a music video at Film City.

MARK BENNINGTON



5. Queen Kareena Kapoor Khan on location for an ad-shoot!

MARK BENNINGTON

6. Ranbir Kapoor, shooting for an ad shoot at YRF studios in Andheri.

MARK BENNINGTON

7. Ranveer Singh, right before his flying stint from a harness at the 2011 Global Indian Film and TV Honors.

MARK BENNINGTON

8. Richa Chadha being her casual self

MARK BENNINGTON

9. Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, clicked at the lighting booth during rehearsal at Prithvi Theater, Mumbai

MARK BENNINGTON

10. Salman Khan greeting and meeting his fans in Pune

MARK BENNINGTON

11. Shashi Kapoor's fans are hooked during a candid conversation with the superstar

MARK BENNINGTON