Dongri To Dubai by S. Hussain Zaidi!!!

             A fun that lies in reading a book can not be even imagined by those who just think of reading a book. Let a book be a Fiction story or a Non-fictional narration, if the book is good, you are bout to land into a world that is as new to you as to anyone else. And exploring a new world with a road that no one knows will turn where is another fun. I have just finished reading one of my last books of 2012 as my exams are approaching and I'm planning to halt this addiction to novels. :-) Though it's going to be hard but a decision made is decision accomplished. "Dongri To Dubai- Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia" is my latest read. It took me 4 days to complete it because of regular college but now as I have finished the book, I'm regretting. I want to start it again and enjoy the journey of reading the book once again. Some book shouldn't end, they should be written in such a way that you keep on reading them in loop. :-) A terrific work by S. Hussain Zaidi- a Mumbai based journalist, a veteran of investigative, crime and terror reporting in Mumbai media. He has worked for the Asian Age, the Mumbai Mirror, Mid-day, and the Indian Express. His previous books include bestsellers like Black Friday and the Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Zaidi is also associate producer for the HBO movie, Terror in Mumbai, based on the 26/11 terror strikes. 

            Dongri to Dubai is the first ever attempt to chronicle the history of the Mumbai mafia. It is the story of notorious gangsters like Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Varadarajan Mudaliar, Chhota Rajan, Abu Salem, but above all, it is the story of a young man who went astray despite having a father in the police force. Dawood Ibrahim was initiated into crime as a pawn in the hands of the Mumbai police and went on to wipe out the competition and eventually became the Mumbai police’s own nemesis. The narrative encompasses several milestones in the history of crime in India, from the rise of the Pathans, formation of the Dawood gang, the first ever supari, mafia’s nefarious role in Bollywood, Dawood’s move to Karachi, and Pakistan’s subsequent alleged role in sheltering one of the most wanted persons in the world. This story is primarily about how a boy from Dongri became a don in Dubai, and captures his bravado, cunningness, focus, ambition, and lust for power in a gripping narrative. The meticulously researched book provides an in-depth and comprehensive account of the mafia’s games of supremacy and internecine warfare.

             A book based on the history of Mumbai Mafia's 60 years of power and authority tends a reader to expect an out of world experience while reading it. And the expectation rises once you see the cover page twinkling with the face of Dawood Ibrahim. A man who is still in memories of all. A man who is kind of brand ambassador of Dubai for Indians. And the book has been written making him the hero of it. Right from the moment Dawood enters the story, book rises to a different level. You just can't miss a single word of this book by thinking of something else. Initially, when Haji Mastan, Varda bhai, Karim Lala's emergence is narrated, it makes you love these Dons. You start considering them as legends. But as soon as Dawood enters into the surreal narration, you wish to flow with the story till the latest page of the book. Not for a moment will you feel that the book should be finished. And that's a sign of a good book.

              The extreme research and proper usage of words make the book what it deserved to. The several years that Mr. Zaidi took in scripting this book shows the result quite clearly. Though the dates aren't mentioned repetitively, you tend to get lost in between of the story. Author should have mentioned the incidents with the dates or years regularly. That would have made this story more interesting with an imaginary timeline. :-) The rise of every gang, its leader and their enmity with other gangs and then their fall is narrated so wonderfully that for a moment you wish to have time machine to go back to that era of Mumbai, stand on the road and witness all the fights and feud that happened. You wish to be one of them and fight among the gangs. :-) The childhood of Dawood, his relation with his father, brothers, sisters, friends, gang members etc are mentioned with extreme care. One needs gut to write a book about the most wanted criminal with utter honesty. The pinch of fiction that author has added periodically interests you more. The last 50 pages, that is the climax of the book is handled very neatly by the author because till then all the fights and collisions ends which is the USP of the book. So it could have been the worst part of the book but Mr. Zaida has ensured that he ends the story with the same intensity with which he carried the whole book with. The conversations that are mentioned makes you laugh. The usage of Hindi makes it more effective. 

            Some drawbacks- Less mention of dates on regular basis confuses us. Some incidents of which author hasn't given details about. That makes it hard for us to progress with the story. The decline of some men and after-effects isn't stated as it should have been. Dawood's relation with some people is just described in a sentence or two while we wish to read more about his personal relations too. That should have been descriptive too. Once Dawood lands in Dubai, the initial days in Dubai is the worst description by Mr. Zaidi. But overall, I would say a book that everyone should read if you are interested in knowing about Dawood Ibrahim, his emergence and his life. Author has surely raised the level of Non-fiction with his latest work. I would rate the book 4.5 out of 5. 

  THANKS.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Love @ Internet by Rajeev Ranjan!!!

            I have just completed reading Rajeev Ranjan's 2nd novel- "Love @ Internet". In May 2012, I read his first work- "A Splash of love". The book is one of my favorites. And after seeing the cover page of Love @ Internet, I was excited about it. I had lots of expectations from Rajeev Ranjan. But unfortunately, he has been unsuccessful in creating the same magic that he did with his first book. Though that book had several grammar and spelling errors but still it won my heart while this one is error-free but still I didn't connect with it. It's the second work by Rajeev Ranjan who is a Graduate in Physics from University of Delhi in 1996, then he pursued Post Graduation again in Physics and turned into an Indian Coast Guard. No, he is not a young author like others who are on the board these days. :-) So girls, chill.

             The synopsis of the book says- How much has internet changed our lives How much has chatting changed the way we interact with others Have you ever tried finding your soul-mate through this medium Is it normal to do that? This novel tries answering all that through a beautiful story. Besides, it also touches some of the emotions that cross our lives. Set up in late nineties it talks about the time when the internet had just arrived on the scene; when people had just seen mobiles; when STD booths had long queues. The novel is also a transition of life with changing ways of communication and attempts to find whether it affects the notions of love anyway. 

            L@I is the story of protagonist- Rohit who misses his first opportunity at love with Tina. She leaves his colony where he used to interact with her through eyes and smile through their respective balconies. But later on, he gets to know about the medium of Internet through which people can get in touch with opposite gender easily. Where everyone is available for a relationship. And he tries his hand on it. He fails initially but later it gives transition to his life. Though he keeps failing again and again but as its said "All well that ends well", Rohit finally achieves the unexpected. To know what unexpected does he get in the end, go get the book. :-) 

           Initially, the book starts with a kind of biography-feel. But later on it loses the touch of the initial pages. I would have been more happier if the author would have kept the whole story written in the same manner as the initial pages are. Secondly, in his first book, author has narrated the story without much conversations while in this book he has inserted lots of conversation. Though they are realistic but it becomes boring after a while. And the conversations are written in paragraph format instead of keeping the dialogues under inverted commas. But again Rajeev Ranjan manages to showcase his talent of connecting the last few pages of the book with its initial pages. Some sentences are beautifully formed. It makes you read them twice. For other that irritates you, author should go for an editing in the second print. The e-mails that are written by Rohit to respective girls are another best parts of the book.  The chapters where his mother and brother speaks about Rohit is also another feature of the novel. The target audience of this book is young boys/girls belonging in the age group of 13 to 20. Anyone between this age might enjoy the book. But my message to Rajeev Ranjan is- I wanted it to be more special than your first book. I hope your 3rd will make me forget your first one. ;-) I would rate this book 2/5. 

  Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

100th BOOK REVIEW- ROBIN SHARMA's The Secret Letters of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari!!!

699th BLOG POST -->>

            I still remember my comeback into this world of book reading- The first time that I picked "Who will cry when you die?" by Robin Sharma from Nashik Railway Station's wheeler store(in 2008). I used to read too many books in my childhood out of which most of them used to be magazines. But after passing my 8th std, mere parr lag gaye and I refrained myself from doing any intellectual activity. :-) In 11th std, I picked up this book again because I was in depression and I wanted to die anytime soon. The title interested me. But the outcome of the book turned out to be quite different than what I thought while picking it up. I got many secrets of living a happy life. I now wanted to experiment all the suggestions that the author gave in the book. For that, I had to live, not die. :-) And after experimenting those things in life, I got a reason to live. Since then, I started considering Robin Sharma as my Guru. He came as a Godly figure in life who motivated me with his thoughts and suggestions. Then I went for The Monk who Sold his Ferrari- the biggest masterpiece from the author. And fortunately, that book transformed my personality and whole purpose of life. After that, I went to Big Bazaar and purchased all his books. And after reading them, the positivism, fearlessness, enthusiasm etc that has got permanently embedded in my personality is inseparable. 

          I have just finished reading Robin Sharma's latest motivational book- "The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari". Initially, I thought that it's about the letters Robin Sharma has received from the people who experienced the transformation in themselves after reading TMWSHF but no, this book is million times greater than my initial assumption. :-) Robin Sharma has crafted this book very differently. He has kept Julian- his favorite character in the book who still plays the role of the person who went to Himalaya and returned back after attaining wisdom and secrets of life from the monks and sages living there. And then doing the same what monks/sages did with him- Sharing the knowledge with others who have lost faith in life and enthusiasm in living. But this time, the book is not a sort of conversation that it has been every time Julian-based story is being written. It's about the journey of a man(Jonathan) through which he learns some principles of life. Before moving to the journey, he was frustrated with the life but once he gets all the principles, he gets excited to return back to his life and fix his unsettled job, unstable marriage and disappointed son. :-) 

             With Jonathan who learns the principle on the journey to which Julian sends him, even we get to learn all the principles. The talismans that is to be collected by Jonathan from different people residing in different areas of the world take us to the exploration of many beautiful spots/countries/cities existing in the world. It also gives us a sudden push for traveling to places that can teach us the serenity of life and exploration. The messages that Jonathan got with each Talisman makes us think about our own life and implementing the same with us. I got excited with each sentence of the book. Reading Robin Sharma's book is the most peaceful odyssey of my life. I can never forget the experience I had while reading all his previous books- may be 10 or something. The only one left to be read is- A Leader With No Title that I can pick up lately this month before the arrival of exam so that I get motivated yet again and study to my best. :-) Robin Sharma's books aren't meant to be read just once for the sake of reading it, but to be kept in our shelf and read whenever we feel angry, tired, sad, depressed, exasperated about life. 

            I don't think that any of the Sharma's book need a review. And I am not even eligible to review his book. But because I want those people to pick it up who are not content with their life. They will surely learn how wonderful life is and even if it's not, how can we live it wonderfully. Yes! And I found nothing better to write for my 699th POST than Robin Sharma's book and its effect on me and millions of people. Paulo Coelho, another revolutioniar in the league of Sharma's is also his fan. So friends, please read this book, you will surely thank me after experiencing the journey of reading this book and it's after effects in your life.

 Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Nick of Time by Komal Mehta!!!

            Reading Love Stories back to back can surely frustrate me to the zenith. But when the stories are from two different kind of writers, the reader within me gives the widest smile possible. I have just completed KOMAL MEHTA's "Nick of Time". The 240 pages book is published by one of the greatest publication- PENGUIN BOOKS. I haven't read much books by Penguin hence I was pretty excited to read this one. The book also has the tagline "Right One Wrong Time". Komal Mehta has always suffered from an overactive imagination and thinks she is good at making up stories. She has been working in the movie marketing field for the past 3 years and has worked for Reliance Big Entertainment and Havas Worldwide(EURO RSCG / MPG India) in the past. Currently she works with Pradeep Guha’s film marketing agency Culture Brandz in Mumbai. Nick of Time is her first novel. And let me tell you my personal view- She looks charming and beautiful. I have checked her image on the back cover almost at every turn of page. :-) My apology for this confession, Komal mam. But this is what your book is all about- Making confessions, right? :-) 

            NICK OF TIME is a story about three characters- Alehya, Vicky and Shagun. Alehya returns to Chandigarh after knowing about her childhood's best friend, Shagun's marriage. She is excited to meet the person with whom her friend is marrying. She is also excited to meet and have lots of conversation with her as it had been 7 years since they met last time. But when she comes to know it's Vicky who she is getting married to, she gets disappointed. She always hated the guy, right from her childhood. She always found him weird and irritating. And she discloses this to Shagun, she doesn't get surprised. She had already planned about making both of them accept each other as Friends. But.... 3 weeks to marriage and Alehya-Vicky spending all the time with each other on Shagun's insistence creates some magical transformation in the plot of the story. As the wedding draws near, the three grapple with issues of love, confusion and guilt to discover what their hearts truly desire. They have to make life-altering decisions in the NICK OF TIME! 

              Komal Mehta is surely a writer whom I would love to read in future too. She has magical writing skills. She makes you get into the journey of the story. For a moment, I myself started thinking as if the whole plot is being played with me and I got tensed at many places. :-) She has great sense of humour which keeps the interest in the book alive. Even when the book turns monotonous in between, her unique description of things made me read the part interestingly too. One writer whom I found similar to Komal Mehta is- Varsha Dixit in her debut novel-"Right Fit Wrong Shoe". Though that book didn't satisfy me much, this has surely entertained me throughout. 

             The initial pages when Alehya and Vicky doesn't pacify with each other gives a curiosity to know what happened further in the story. Because synopsis of the book makes it clear that both of them falls for each other later. And when the whole series of the awaited moments begin, the book goes to a very different level. It takes you to a totally different world of love-getting-over-all-the-fears-and-confusions. It becomes entertaining to read about the marriage preparation of Vicky-Shagun at one end while the development of romance between Vicky-Alehya at another end. The love scenarios that authoress has inserted in the book are original. I have always believed that reading too many similar stories isn't an irritation if all of them are being treated in different ways. And I am quite blithe to say that Komal Mehta has given a totally new face to the story that is so common in our Bollywood movies and TV serials. She has treated it in her own way that makes you excited to turn the pages. 

            The dilemma that each character gets into the book after the conversation of Alekhya and Shagun with mehendi in their hands is the real moment when I fell in love with the book. Every thing that is written after that scene touched my heart directly. It says so much about the different traits of human beings. It makes hard for us to characterize any of the three characters as wrong, traitor or exploited. Every one of them seems to be right according to the scenario that took place with their life. But still knowing the fact that one of them will have to sacrifice gives goosebumps to you almost at every thought of them that is mentioned in the pre-climax and climax pages. The book tells about how one hears to his/her heart and goes in whatever direction life then takes to. How one confesses what one has gone through and brings a transformation towards happiness in life. How one does not get selfish even when one knows that he'll have to sacrifice for a friend or a love-partner. There are many such elements that I noticed while reading the book, but I won't talk of all otherwise you'll lose all the excitement of picking up the book from the bookstore near you. :-)

           Coming to the drawbacks, first I would like to criticize the COVER PAGE of the book with all my heart. It is seriously very dull. Even the face of the girls doesn't match with the description of Alehya and Shagun in the book. The cover page's design is so yellowish that you might consider the book as a decade old. I am disappointed. I hope with next print, the cover page is changed to something bright and lovely. Then, as Chandigarh is mentioned so many times by the authoress while describing the plot of the story in synopsis and sneak peeks, she should have mentioned some places from Chandigarh in the book. The city doesn't get the treatment in the story that it gets in synopsis. And as the book is about marriage, many traditions should have been mentioned in an exciting manner but authoress has again ignored doing any of this. Else, every thing related to the story is COOL. I would rate the book 3.75/5. I recommend it to all who are wanting to read a different tale of love, confusion and destiny. GO FOR IT.

  Thanks.

   ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Journey of Two Hearts! by Anuj Tiwari!!!

           It's a sad fact that every reader's favorite publication- SRISHTI isn't doing well these days. The number of claims against it has kept readers little away from it. The biggest drawback has been the editing of the books. No reader wants to read a book that is full of mistakes and grammatical errors. Initially, people ignored some of the mistakes but recently everyone observed the amount of mistakes a book from Srishti Publication contains. It is again a shocking element that no book of Srishti has got the tag of BESTSELLER since a year. Again, distribution was a concern. Recently I have seen Srishti books in Crossword and Landmark stores that means this drawback has been rectified. I hope the Publication house recuperates soon. I didn't ignore the latest release by Srishti- Anuj Tiwari's "Journey of Two Hearts! -will be cherished forever". Anuj Tiwari is a debutante residing in Mumbai and working in one of the leading IT companies. One of the most grounded author in the contemporary period. 

             Journey of Two Hearts is about the protagonist- Anuj who gets into friendship with a girl- Pakhi through a scenario that his friend created. He kept talking for months through mobile conversations without meeting her. Finally, they decide to meet. The meeting turns out to be more romantic than they expected. It took time for Anuj to build the relation of Friendship into love. But once when he does, he finds bliss in the odyssey of this beautiful relationship. Being away from Pakhi for most of the times, his love for her kept growing up every minute. But some misunderstanding bought some cracks in their beautiful saga of love. Did Anuj win her or let his love go? To get the answer to this- go get the book. :-)

             Anuj Tiwari started scripting his love story right from the first day when he came in contact with his girlfriend. Later, when a tragedy took place with him, his parents asked him to at least try for getting the book published as he has already written it. He gave a thought and the JOURNEY OF TWO HEARTS! released on 5th September, 2012. As this was written as a personal story never to be shared with anyone except the author's muse, I did find some flaws in the narration. There are many sentences which Anuj Tiwari has written in a very shortcut form. He should have avoided that. But the different fonts, cases and sizes that he has used for bringing special effects in the book is commendable. Writer has kept the chapters short which can help you read this book in breaks. It's a short love story without any unwanted details. 

            The first chapter of the book is interesting. The initial conversations between both the protagonist is also something that makes you excited to know about the future of the story. The way they get into the relationship of love is also a beautiful part. The intimate and love-making scenes are described beautifully. As the story is true, author has been successful in bringing up emotions through his writing. The pre-climax is better than the climax. After reading the pre-climax, I was expecting climax to be some kind of an epic but author failed to impress me there. But I can easily claim that the pre-climax is the best part of the book. As the story is true, author has not created any kind of too fictional elements. Hence, you might remember Ravinder Singh's I too had a love story and Sudeep Nagarkar's Few Things Left Unsaid while reading the book.

           The major drawback of the book is the same that many authors from Srishti shares- Author hasn't given any special characterization to other characters of the book. Parents are just special appearances while they should have been a major part of the story. Even the third character- Arpan should have been drafted properly. Author keeps on talking only about the protagonists throughout which turns out to be boring sometimes. While I would say that the poems in the book were inserted at the right moments. As the first attempt, I would rate this book somewhere in between 2.75 and 3. It is specially for the first time readers, Indian romance writers' fans and the people belonging between the age group of 17 to 23. 

  Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Karl, aaj aur kal by Cyrus Broacha!!!

             If you remember, I reviewed Cyrus Broacha's The Average Indian Male few weeks ago. I was so excited about reading this guy's books that I ordered both of them together. And after reading the first one, I was too disappointed. That made me read some other novels before jumping on the second one by him. And finally I have completed his 2nd novel- a Fiction funny story- "Karl, aaj aur kal" published by Random House publication. The book hasn't done even mediocre business in the market. And why would it do? Who wants to read a fiction story by a man like Cyrus Broacha. A non-fiction humour-full book is expected and can be read. But a fiction by him seems to be the biggest mistake of Random House Publication. Though the book is not that boring too. But it is not even interesting. Some parts of the book, or I must say 40% of the book did make me laugh out loud. The imaginations that Cyrus has scripted in this book is seriously funny. Not everyone can think the way he did while writing this kind of a story. But as the humour part keeps on continuing in the same temperament throughout the book, it turns out to be monotonous after a while. I had the same complaint from Cyrus with his first non-fiction too. 

              Initially, the book has some very difficult English. It is hard to understand some of the sentences. Later, he has used many words that goes above head. It is not possible to open dictionary for each word while reading a 230 page fiction. It would be better to pick a true literature-oriented writer if that's the purpose of reading a book- LEARNING NEW WORDS. But that is just for creating an impression initially. Later, Cyrus hasn't used any such words that can make you feel terrible about having the book in your hand. I can say it with all the audacity that it would be no surprise to me if some of you may say after this review that we were unable to complete it. Yes, the book frustrates. Though the story keeps on traveling among different environments but still the interest keeps on declining with each page. And I would also blame Random House for that. Who publishes a book in such a traditional manner? It's just that the words are printed on a paper without any design, watermark or anything of that sort. It's printing, font and everything is such that you might feel after a while that you are reading about the History of India or Russian Revolution. At least, for such genres, a publication should prefer fonts like Comic Sans etc that can generate interest. 

              I would say- SKIP THE BOOK. I would rate it just 2.5. Some of you may ask why even 2.5- for the only reason that 40% of the book did make me laugh out loud. YES!!!

Synopsis:

‘God once told me life is absurd. How else can two boys land up in America and not find any girls?’ Karl and Kunal are just two ordinary Mumbai boys who like ordinary things: bunking class, films, food and pornography. Intent on attaining stardom they fly off to the legendary Lee Strasburg Acting Studio to sharpen their craft in acting and in chasing girls. They fail on both counts but come back with a jackpot: their maiden movie role. In Bollywood, they meet Yusuf Khan, who at forty-six is still the undisputed king of college romance. Being losers doesn’t get in their way and soon the trio become a hit team, churning out blockbuster after blockbuster. Before they know it, Karl and Kunal get their own spot boys, the defining moment in every Bollywood actor’s life, feature in an TV commercial with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, and are even invited to meet Bill Clinton on his visit to India. But all this is not enough for Karl, who knows that it’s really politics which is the ultimate destination for all ‘great’ actors. As Pajama Party’s nominee from south Mumbai, Karl makes his debut as a politician. Will he hit the boxoffice again? A novel about celebrities, Bollywood and politics, Karl, aaj aur kal is a hilarious novel from India’s best known funny man.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

How About A Sin Tonight? by Novoneel Chakraborty!!!

           After knowing the negative reviews of the recently released- HEROINE, I made it evident to myself that I'm not going for it. But as I was excited for the movie before its release, I had an urge of experiencing something similar. Undoubtedly, I picked up a book from my shelf- "How About A Sin Tonight?" by one of the favorites- NOVONEEL CHAKRABORTY. The book is based on the people related to the world of glamour, television, advertisements and Bollywood. This is the third book of the author after his first two released by Srishti Publication- A Thing Beyond Forever and That Kiss in the Rain. But as most of the Bestselling authors of Srishti, even Novoneel moved to Random House Publication for his 3rd novel. And as expected, the hoopla created around this book was enough to give a boost to the sales. I haven't heard of it getting vindicated into Bestselling List yet but I am sure that it's getting into it very soon. 

           The synopsis of the book is perfectly written, hence pasting as it is: "In the biggest casting coup of the Hindi film industry, five top stars are signed up for a new movie: Shahraan—a living legend still lamenting the loss of his first love; Reva and Neev—newcomers allied in a common journey; Nishani—the celebrity kid who must avenge her father’s untimely death; and Kaash—the actor harbouring a secret love from his past. As their intimately intertwined personal stories take centre stage, the industry’s underbelly is left exposed for all to see. By the time the curtain draws to a close, the gossip-hungry media has enough fodder on its plate to last a lifetime.

            Novoneel Chakraborty, bestselling author of A Thing beyond Forever and That Kiss in the Rain, unveils the grime behind the glitz, the insecurities and compromises, in a world where aspirants come prepared to strike a Faustian bargain. A beguiling tale of love, ambition, jealousy, and betrayal, How About a Sin Tonight? will leave you asking for more."

             I have both the recent books of Novoneel at my home but I never picked them up because of lack of time. But after reading the third by him, I am excited about the first two which are everyone's favorite. The kind of narration that Novoneel has used in the book right from the first sentence till the last, keeps you excited. I just kept on reading, reading and reading. Even when the story went slow paced at times, the narration and the sentences formation kept me intrigued into it. And thus I want to read more from the author. So the first two books, you are coming out from the shelf very soon. :-)

             The book is spread around many characters- each with different shade and background. Because author has mentioned every actor's source before coming into the field, it makes you feel that you are watching the life story of each one of them right from their birth. The way every character's struggle has been shown for entering into the field that gives fame within few hours is perfectly described. Little research of the author can be easily seen because these are the details which aren't common but still an existence in this industry. The initial pages of the book are the most beautiful part of it- The moments of pure love between Shahraan and Mehfil. I just wanted to read it till the 283rd-last page of the book but unfortunately it ended quite earlier for other stories to come and play their parts. But fortunately, the way in which author has fast forwarded decades while narrating the story shows the unique plethora of writing skills that he possesses. 

              Actually, I haven't noted the beautiful moments while reading the book because the whole book is written in a single flow with many messages being delivered in between. Some words in italic does touch our heart while some not in italic also leave the same kind of an expression on us. But the letter that Mehfil writes for Shahraan is something that made me cry, literally. Then, Shahraan's journey towards being the best actor of the Bollywood is something that fascinated me. Every time the female characters had to compromise with their bodies being placed in front of the producers/directors/powerful people of the industry, I got goosebumps imagining the situations that these girls have to go through to achieve their dream/ambition. The pre-climax scene where a male and female character gets into a physical fight is another goosebumps-giving-scene. The another best part of the narration is the scene describing love-making and sexual moments. :-) The biggest boring part of the book were the unlimited letters by Kaash is the second half. The second half of the book does bring some extremely good parts of the book but it is too stretched. The book could have easily kept shorter by 50 pages. I rate the story and narration- 3.5 but to the many philosophical messages that author gives while narrating, I give .25 more. So finally- 3.75/5. 

  Thanks.

   ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU