I'll begin with an anecdote: When my book was released in Delhi, I was being interviewed by Rajdeep Sardesai, the television anchor and the son of the (late) cricketer Dilip Sardesai.

He said to me, 'Apart from being a well-known historian, you are a well-known authority on cricket and I was very disappointed to find in a chapter on people's entertainment there were only two pages on cricket but 15 pages on Hindi films.' I told him how a Bengali reviewer had complained that I devoted only one page to Satyajit Ray in the book.

I said these are not aesthetic judgments; I personally love cricket much more than Hindi films. I am also willing to freely concede that Satyajit Ray was a much greater film director than any Hindi film director. But Hindi films have done much more than the game of cricket or Satyajit Ray in uniting India. That's a historian's judgment.

One of the greatest compliments to Hindi films mentioned in my book is that Manipuri insurgents banned the screening of Hindi films in Manipur because it would integrate them more with other Indians. A happy, romantic film is banned in Manipur? This is an extraordinary tribute to the uniting influence of the Hindi film.

Those who make Hindi films come from all parts of India: The director could be Tamil, a lead actor Bengali, the lead actress from Sikkim, the villain from Maharashtra. And the music composer from Punjab, Gujarat or Tamil Nadu.

Image: Kapil Dev holds the World Cup aloft after the 1983 final at Lord's. India won the match against the West Indies by 43 runs. Photograph: Dave Cannon/Allsport Also read: India's first war of Independence

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