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Shadaab Khan, who is gearing up to release his novel Murder In Bollywood, is overjoyed
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; July 2, 2015)

Enlarge ImageAmjad Khan’s elder son Shadaab is all set to release his second book Murder In Bollywood on July 14 and he has got none other than Amitabh Bachchan launching it. An elated Shadaab says, “Initially, I was not keen on having a big launch, but my family and Penguin, which has published the book, insisted. My wife and I were walking towards Taj Lands End when I messaged Mr Bachchan asking if he would launch my book and within 10 minutes he replied saying he would love to. I am honoured that after so many years of my father passing away, Bachchan is gracious enough to do a favour for me.”

Enlarge ImageAsk him if the book is based on any real incident in Bollywood and he denies it. “It’s a fictional murder mystery set in Bollywood. But yes, I got the germ of an idea from a real murder that took place in the 1930s in Hollywood. A female junior artiste was brutally mudered and a lot of Hollywood biggies came under the scanner. However, the case hasn’t been solved till date. What I have done in the book is introduced a detective and if it does well, will have a franchise,” explains Shadaab, whose first book was Shanti Memorial. Though the book wasn’t received well, it got Shadaab critical acclaim that inspired him to write his next. “It was a pyschological thriller and had two novellas. It was a niche book, but Murder In Bollywood is a fast-paced commercial story, which people will like,” says Shadaab confidently.

Does he have plans of turning it into a film considering it has all the ingredients of a potboiler? “My intention was to tell a good story, but if it gets adapted into a film, it will be great,” he smiles.

Shadaab had initially followed in the footsteps of his father and acted in a couple of movies like Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat co-starring Rani Mukerji, but his career did not take off. He, however, is still open to acting. “Last year Sriram Raghavan offered me Badlapur, but I couldn’t take it up because I had signed a contract for the book, which I had to finish. Eventually, the role was played by Vinay Pathak. It was entirely my loss,” says Shadaab adding that he would love to strike a balance between books and films.