During the launch of his biography Anything But Khamosh: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography by Bharti S Pradhan, Shatrughan Sinha said that he does not wish to be a role model but hopes that the book will encourage the younger generation to take inspiration from his struggle in politics and cinema. Riya Sharma reports
He was a young boy from Patna who graduated from FTII to fulfill his dream of becoming an actor. Shatrughan Sinha, the ‘bihari babu’ as many call him, had no forefather in the film industry. But, his passion for his work and love for cinema drove him to become the man behind ‘khamosh’. After setting foot in the industry, Sinha aimed to dream bigger. The passion that he had for cinema, that same junoon got him to politics. Needless to say, his popularity among the masses won him the Indian general election from Patna Sahib in Bihar in 2014. The story of shotgun Sinha is no less than an inspriting tale and this is the reason why Bharti S Pradhan, one of the senior most film journalists in the country chose his story as the subject of her book, Anything But Khamosh: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography.
Thirty years ago, when someone asked Pradhan, ‘whose biography would be most honest in India’, she had taken Sinha’s name. And 30 years later, she has made it true. “I had known him for so long and as a journalist, I had interviewed him on several occassions. He has got a good journalist mind, he knows what to say and what would make headlines,” she laughed.
The book covers everything from his cinematic and political career. And, nothing has been ‘sensitised’ to please others. “I applaud his family and him for trusting me and letting me write about his life,” she shared.
“A lot of it is based on trust and this trust was built over years. I had known Poonam (his wife) much before they got married. I had known them individually. So, when it came to writing down this biography, they left it on me and Sinha to carry out the piece. He was not the only one who was open to any kind of discussion on his life but he also let others talk about him and be forthcoming about it. He could have edited many instances but he never asked me to,” she added.
During the launch of the book, many anecdotes, that are mentioned in the book, were discussed and one of those was th econtroversial episode when Sinha was denied a nomination to Rajya Sabha. In the whole book, he has reffered senior leaders of BJP, lK Advani and Yashwanth Sinha as his margdarshak (torch bearer) but in this episode, Sinha seems hurt. “That was a broad decision taken in the party,” said Advani, to which Pradhan interuupted and said, “He has mentioned in the book that it was his way of telling him, ‘look, you are popular enough to contest lok Sabha elections.’” Advani continued, “I know that it is the only stage in the book where he has shown resentment that Advani did not agree to send me to the Rajya Sabha. Even then, he calls me hismargdarshak (laughs). I publicly apologise to him as I also persuaded denial for his nomination.”
Sinha on the other hand said, “Though I was hurt at that time but I am happy to see how things have turned out. Pradhan has weaved together a masterpice, caputring moments from my reel to real life of cinema and politics and gievn a brief account. Yes, it is not a detailed version. That is why I hope there will be a sequel to this book. The objective behind writing this book was simple — if a boy from Patna who had no facilites and opportunites can make it big in the field of cinema and politics then others can also do it. I don’t wish to become a role model but I hope the younger generation will be inspired by it.”
photo credits : Pankaj Kumar