Karan Johar is synonymous with success, panache, quick wit, and outspokenness, which sometimes inadvertently creates controversy and makes headlines. KJo, as he is popularly called, has been a much-loved Bollywood film director, producer and actor. With his flagship Dharma Production, he has constantly challenged the norms, written and rewritten rules, and set trends.
But who is the man behind the icon that we all know? Baring all for the first time in his autobiography, An Unsuitable Boy, KJo reminisces about his childhood, the influence of his Sindhi mother and Punjabi father, obsession with Bollywood, foray into films, friendships with Aditya Chopra, SRK and Kajol, his love life, the AIB Roast, and much more. In his trademark frank style, he talks about the ever-changing face of Indian cinema, challenges and learnings, as well as friendships and rivalries in the industry.
Honest, heart-warming and insightful, An Unsuitable Boy is both the story of the life of an exceptional film-maker at the peak of his powers and of an equally extraordinary human being who shows you how to survive and succeed in life.
Archives: Books
The Class of 83
At a time when Mumbai was plagued by underworld gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim, Iqbal Kaskar and Chhota Rajan, the batch of 1983 from the Police Training School (PTC) in Nashik-trained by the legendary Arvind Inamdar-produced a group of prominent encounter specialists who have been credited with bringing back the rule of law in the city.
Famed even within this batch, trigger-happy senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma understood that to save the city from the clutches of the underworld, he would need to dilute rival gangs. The Class of 83 delves deep into the most famous (or infamous) encounters conducted by Sharma and his batch mates. Pradeep Sharma was arrested by the same department he had served for two-and-a-half decades. He faced the ignominy of jail, clubbed in the same cell as the criminals he had arrested. However, he fought for his honour, was acquitted and reinstated into service.
In The Class of 83, S. Hussain Zaidi presents a one-of-a-kind story of a policeman’s triumphs, struggles and redemption.
Khaki Files
December 13, 2001: Pak-based terrorists carry out an audacious attack on the Indian Parliament killing eight security personnel and a gardener; all five terrorists are killed in their gun-battle with policemen deployed at the citadel of Indian democracy; the case is solved and all accused arrested within 72 hours.
December 16, 2012: a 23-year-old physiotherapist is brutally gang raped in a moving bus in Delhi; the case is cracked within five days despite the lack of initial leads; a head constable loses his life in the line of duty during riots that follow the dastardly crime.
In Khaki Files, Neeraj Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner revisits many such high profile police cases of his career -from investigation of one of the biggest lottery frauds in the country to foiled ISI attempt to kill Tarun Tejpal and Anirudh Behal of Tehalka-bringing to light numerous achievements of the country’s police force, otherwise largely reviled and ridiculed.
An Extreme Love of Coffee
When they drink a cup of ‘magic’ coffee, Rahul and Neha are entrusted with a quest that promises to lead to great treasure. As they race from the plantations of Coorg to Japanese graveyards, they are trailed by the Yamamoto brothers-bearing grudges and carrying swords.
Accompanied by a friendly ghost and armed with an extreme love of coffee, Rahul and Neha discover their passion for warm frothy concoctions and each other.
But will they manage to evade their Japanese assailants and find the treasure they first set out for?
Roses Are Blood Red
‘I’ll gift you a love story that every girl desires, but few get to live.’
He’d told me once. And boy, did he stick to his words! Vanav Thakur is the perfect boyfriend that any girl can have. He ticks every box you can ever have for your Mr Right. Trust me on this. He cares for me, respects me, never objectifies me, never says no to me for anything, understands me, is progressive and has no shadow of any male chauvinism in him. Sometimes, I wonder if I really deserve him. My parents, like me, had no option but to accept him as my boyfriend. Everything was hunky dory and I thought I would be that one girl who would never have any relationship hiccup until I stumbled upon the reason behind his perfection.
I’m Aarisha Shergill and my life is about to get ripped apart because I should have known some things should be left alone.
Is love capable of healing the deep wounds which love itself creates within you? Mysteriously thrilling in its essence, Roses Are Blood Red is the haunting story of a passion and eternal love
I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier
I don’t write about my experiences with depression to defend the legitimacy of my pain. My pain is real; it does not come to me because of my lifestyle, and it is not taken away by my lifestyle.
Unwittingly known as Alia Bhatt’s older sister, screenwriter and fame-child Shaheen Bhatt has been a powerhouse of quiet restraint-until recently. In a sweeping act of courage, she now invites you into her head.
Shaheen was diagnosed with depression at eighteen, after five years of already living with it. In this emotionally arresting memoir, she reveals both the daily experiences and big picture of one of the most debilitating and critically misinterpreted mental illnesses in the twenty-first century. Equal parts conundrum and enlightenment, Shaheen takes us through the personal pendulum of understanding and living with depression in her privileged circumstances. With honesty and a profound self-awareness, Shaheen lays claim to her sadness, while locating it in the universal fabric of the human condition.
In this multi-dimensional, philosophical tell-all, Shaheen acknowledges, accepts and overcomes the peculiarities of living with depression. A topic of massive interest to anyone with mental health disorders, I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier stretches out its hand to gently provide solace and solidarity.
The Big Book Of Treats
The ultimate home baker’s cookbook, from Mumbai’s very own ‘macaron lady’
Meet Pooja Dhingra. Cupcake addict. Macaron lover. Baker. And founder and owner of Mumbai’s most famous French-style pâtisserie, Le15.
Her passion for baking led Pooja to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and on her return she opened Le15 Pâtisserie, which was soon a runaway success. Today, as a professional baker, Pooja heads one of India’s finest pâtisseries. As a home
baker, she makes hearty, uncomplicated desserts with kitchen staples that can be found at any corner shop.
The Big Book of Treats is Pooja’s gift to Indian home bakers. Written with a professional’s exacting eye and a home chef ’s ability to improvise, it teaches you how to make everything from cookies and cupcakes to brownies and birthday cakes. Accessible, engaging and undeniably scrumptious, these recipes will bring all sorts of baked goodies—even macarons—into your own kitchen.
The Habit of Winning
Do you feel like throwing in the towel, but want to be a great leader? Would you like to build an organization? Do you want your child to be the best he/she can be? If you answered yes to any of these questions, The Habit of Winning is for you. The stories here range from cola wars to cricketing heroes, from Michelle Obama’s management techniques to Mahatma Gandhi’s generosity. There are life lessons from frogs and rabbits, sharks and butterflies, kites and balloons. Together they create a heady mix that will make the winner inside you emerge and grow.
The Secret of Leadership
Bestselling author Prakash Iyer uses simple but powerful anecdotes and parables from all over the world to demonstrate what makes for effective personal and professional leadership. Iyer draws lessons from sources as diverse as his driver, a mother giraffe, Abraham Lincoln and footballers in the United Kingdom. He shows how an instinct to lead can be acquired even while flipping burgers at a fast-food chain. All of these stories come together in an explosive cocktail to unleash your inner leader.
The Test of My Life
‘That day I cried like a baby not because I feared what cancer would do but because I didn’t want the disease. I wanted my life to be normal, which it could not be.’
For the first time Yuvraj Singh tells the real story behind the 2011 World Cup when on-the-field triumph hid his increasingly puzzling health problems and worrying illnesses. In his debut book
The test of my life, he reveals how—plagued with insomnia, coughing fits that left him vomiting blood, and an inability to eat—he made a deal with God. On the night before the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final, Yuvraj prayed for the World Cup in return for anything God wanted.
In this book, he lays bare his fears, doubts, and the lows he experienced during chemotherapy—when he lost his energy, his appetite, and his hair—and his battle to find the will to survive. Poignant, personal, and moving—The test of my life—is about cancer and cricket; but more importantly, it is about the human will to fight adversity and triumph despite all odds.