Gulshan Grover’s memoir is dedicated to his son, Sanjay. That sets the tone for the book, making you believe that within its pages, you will find more glimpses of the man, who made bad look so good on screen, that the moniker given to him by Subhash Ghai — Bad Man — has remained etched firmly in people’s minds over the years.
The contrast between where he grew up and where he eventually landed, couldn’t have been put more dramatically than in the first chapter itself when Gulshan talks about his meetings with Prince Charles. For a boy who grew up in Trinagar near Delhi, where there were hardly any brick houses, it must have seemed like a dream to be dining with the Prince of England. But that’s how his life had turned out to be.
The kind of insights one was expecting with a book on one of Bollywood’s most famous villains, however, is seen only in the initial few chapters. His devotion towards his parents — Pitaji and Chaiji — and their love towards him is especially touching. His struggles to get a break in the film industry after coming to Mumbai, struggling to pay the rent at the hostel he was staying in, improvisation classes they underwent at the Roshan Taneja School of Acting, teaching Sanjay Dutt and becoming a part of his friend circle, his friendship with Tina Munim, Sridevi’s advice to him on how to enact rape scenes — form the better part of the book, where you see Gulshan for what he was. But soon, the anecdotal tone of the book starts becoming repetitive. Story after story about how he came into contact with the people in his life, going from one Hindi film set to another, doing regional cinema, making a foray into Hollywood, being one of the first actors to embrace world cinema — tells you of his determination and patience, and his dedication towards his craft. But it never really goes beyond and tells you about Gulshan, the person. His relationship with his former wife, for instance, is only told in passing. Most of the times, you don’t know what he had been thinking or what he was going through personally, as he navigated through unchartered territories.
With hardly any books on one of Indian cinema’s most prominent actors, Bad Man could have been the opportunity to delve deep into the man that he is. As a fan of the actor, you might find his journey interesting and even inspiring, but if you were looking for an insight into him as a person, this is not the book.
Price & Publication: Rs 499, Penguin Random House
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