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Noted film critic Anupama Chopra's latest book on Bollywood
star Shah Rukh Khan has made headlines for its details on how
mobster Abu Salem allegedly made threatening calls to the
superstar, but the author says the chapter was "taken out of
context" and there is more information of greater significance in
the book.
"My book is called 'King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the
Seductive World of Indian Cinema', not 'Shah Rukh Khan and the
underworld'," Chopra told IANS.
"It's a 300-page book about the evolution of a superstar, a
country and a film industry. In this, perhaps five or six pages are
about Shah Rukh and the mafia. I think that was taken out of
context and made into headlines. I don't want to add to that. Let
people read the book first," she added.
Chopra's earlier book, "Sholay: The Making of a Classic", had won
a National Award for being the best book on cinema. She followed it
with "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: The Brave-Hearted Will Take the
Bride".
Though there are quite a few recent books on Shah Rukh Khan, Chopra
is unperturbed. She says her book has some unheard and unread
information about the star.
"My book is a look at popular Hindi cinema through the life and
films of Shah Rukh. So it's very different from the other SRK
books. I believe there are connections and details here that
haven't appeared before."
How much time did she take to write the book?
"It's taken four years from the time I first spoke to Shah Rukh
about writing a book to August 2007 when it will finally be
released."
The author describes Shah Rukh as an "emblematic icon" and says one
cannot grade him.
Asked what she thought about the reported rivalry between Shah Rukh
and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, she said: "I have no idea if
there is or isn't any truth in this rivalry."
Known for his generosity, Shah Rukh, who has given hits like
"Baazigar", "Darr", "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Dil To Pagal
Hai", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" and "Don", gave his full support to
Chopra for the book.
"He has been very generous with his time and extremely supportive
of the project. I have hounded him across the globe for
three-and-a-half-years but he has never been impatient. Moreover,
he read the manuscript but never asked me to change a single comma.
I don't think I could have asked for more."
Anupama's husband Vidhu Vinod Chopra and sister Tanuja Chandra are
well-known Bollywood filmmakers. Her mother Kamna Chandra is a
scriptwriter and her brother Vikram Chandra is an award-winning
novelist whose work includes "Red Earth and Pouring Rain" and "Love
and Longing in Bombay". He has also written Hindi film scripts.
However, Anupama says she has no plan to make a film.
Indo-Asian News Service
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