Mohan Deep
Mohan Deep
Mohan Deep
Born
Mohan Kishinchand Chandirramani

1948 (age 75–76)
Agra, India
NationalityIndian
OccupationAuthor
Notable workThe Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala
Eurekha!
Simply Scandalous: Meena Kumari
It's My Life
The Five Foolish Virgins
Color Me Rich

Mohan Deep (born Mohan Kishinchand Chandirramani in 1948), is an Indian writer.[1][2] He has written multiple books on Bollywood film personalities, including the books: The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala, Simply Scandalous: Meena Kumari, and Eurekha!: The Intimate Life Story of Rekha (an unauthorised biography of Rekha). In recent years, he has focused on writing fiction. Two of his novels are The Five Foolish Virgins (2013) and Color Me Rich (2016).[3][4]

Early and personal life

Deep was born as Mohan Kishinchand Chandirramani and his family belonged to a Sindhi (Hyderabadi Aamil) family that migrated from Karachi (Sind) (now in Pakistan) in the wake of the partition. He spent his early life in Bombay's western suburbs, Kandivli.

He started as a short story writer and novelist in Sindhi when he was doing his schooling. His published work includes over 200 short stories, two novels namely Surg Munhje Baahun Mein (Heaven in My Arms; 1964) and Khaali Haath (Empty Hands; 1969), a collection of short stories entitled Parai Aurat (The Other Woman; 1970) and a collection of poems named Munhje Paachhe jo Hik Hisso (1972). He started writing in English after getting an honours degree in English literature from the University of Pune in 1974. He was actively associated with Sahitya Akademi. His works are known for their psychological approach.[5][6]

Literary career

Deep's first biography, about actress Madhubala, was The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala, published by Magna Books.[7][8][9] The family, specially Madhubala's sister, opposed the book. The family, described as Dehlavis by Mohan Deep, disputed the surname and insisted that they were Khans. The author countered that the name on her grave, written in Urdu, was Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi.[10]

In the unofficial biography, published in 1996, he claims that Madhubala's husband Kishore Kumar regularly whipped her, who would later show her lashes to Naushad.[11] He also stated that the versions about Madhubala's sickness and death provided by her family members did not match with those provided by Kishore Kumar's family members. Deep also questioned whether Madhubala was really ill or whether her ailing was a fabrication. Deep claims that Madhubala was forced to wear heavy shackles and whipped mercilessly in real life, and during the shooting of additional unreleased footage for the classic Mughal-e-Azam (1960), which he contends is proven by the fact that only a minor part of the total number of reels shot for the film were released to the public. He further claims that the additional footage of the film earned Kishore Kumar a lot of money which he earned forcing by Madhubala to work as a sex slave during the shoot.[11] The book was heavily criticized on its release by industry veterans such as Shammi Kapoor, Shakti Samanta and Paidi Jairaj.[12]

At the time when Madhubala was released, there was competition between publishers Magna Publishing and Times Group. Times Group was very critical of the book.[13] Simply Scandalous: Meena Kumari, his biography on Meena Kumari, published by Image Books, was loved by fans and media alike. It was serialized in Mumbai's Hindi daily Dopahar Ka Saamna.

As a part of a trilogy, in 1999, Deep wrote Eurekha!, an unauthorized biography of Bollywood actress Rekha, with Shivani Publications. This, too, was controversial.[14][15]

Mohan Deep is best known as the only Indian author to have written what are described as 'unauthorised biographies,[16] he also wrote a novel, It's My Life (1997).

Deep moved into a different genre; historical fiction. In 2002, he wrote Nehru and the Tantrik Woman. It was inspired by the revelations about the illegitimate child of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, by his private secretary M. O. Mathai. The play was set in 1975–77 when, then-prime minister Indira Gandhi had imposed emergency rule in India. The censor board for the theatre refused to give permission to stage the play, even after a stormy meeting between the author and the board members. The script was published as a book by Image Books with the same title, Nehru and the Tantrik Woman.[17]

His next was an entirely different theme, feng shui. Feng Shui for the Bold and Beautiful, the Rich and Famous was published in 2001. It was launched by Bollywood star Ajay Devgn.[18]

The Five Foolish Virgins (2013) was a novel. The Five Foolish Virgins, is a fictional take on the world of cinema.[3] Color Me Rich (2016) was the tenth book, and the 3rd novel of the author.[19]

Bibliography

TitleYearGenrePublisherISBN
Color Me Rich2016NovelQuest MercuryISBN 9788192678528
The Five Foolish Virgins2013NovelQuest MercuryISBN 9788192678504
Nehru & Tantrik Woman2002Historical fictionImage BooksISBN 9788190109253
Feng Shui for the Bold & Beautiful, the Rich & Famous2001Non-fictionTristar PublicationsISBN 9788190107914
Four Options2000Quiz BookBook Quest PublishersISBN 9788186025109
Eurekha!: The Intimate Life Story of Rekha1999BiographyShivani PublicationsNA
Simply Scandalous: Meena Kumari1998BiographyImage BooksNA
It's My Life1997NovelMagna PublicationsNA
Madhubala1996BiographyMagna PublicationsNA
The Silhouettes1983Non-fictionNimma PublicationsNA

Other activities

Besides writing, Mohan Deep was into painting and oriental philosophy. Much before feng shui became popular in India, he had started experimenting with the ancient oriental philosophy and science of Geomancy. Mohan Deep and became a Feng Shui Master in 2001.[20]

He was also the editor of an English news-weekly Suvidha Express for over two years and then moved to edit and write for filmtvindia.com, a Bollywood related web site.

See also

References

Citations
  1. ↑ Patel, Tara. "Maverick Writer". Afternoon on Sunday (17 May 1998): 6.
  2. ↑ Contractor, Behram (6 April 1998). "Eurekha". The Afternoon Despatch & Courier.
  3. 1 2 "Author Mohan Deep returns with a Bollywood potboiler". The Indian Express. 17 June 2013. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Sam, Julie (20 January 2016). "Rags to riches". The Asian Age. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Hiranandani, Prof. Popati (1984). History of Sindhi Literature. Mumbai: Sahitya Dhara. p. 189.
  6. ↑ Vakil, Ashwina (July 1994). "Out Now". Island.
  7. ↑ "Indiscreet Liaisons | Saira Menezes". Outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Kamath, M. V. (26 May 1996). "Analysis". The Daily.
  9. ↑ "Debonair". June 1996. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ Deep, Mohan (June 1996). "Madhubala's Publicity Hungry Sister". The Daily. Low Life.
  11. 1 2 Deep, Mohan (1996). The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala. Magna Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 1906574219. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "It's in Bad Taste". Outlook India. 10 July 1996. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Akbar, M. J. (5 August 1996). "Sunday". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ↑ Mohan, Kumar (25 December 1998). "Party Repartee". Complete Cinema: 5.
  15. ↑ "Champgne Shots". Society (Magna Publishers). May 1998.
  16. ↑ Pillai, Jitesh (26 July 1998). "Book, Line and Stinker". Sunday Times / Culture Curry.
  17. ↑ "Newspaper". New Straits Times. 22 November 2002. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  18. ↑ Padukone, Chaitanya (26 July 2001). "Chalomumbai". Mid-Day.
  19. ↑ "Shirish Kunder to launch Kindle edition of 'Color Me Rich'". The Indian Express. 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  20. ↑ Bhagwagar, Dale (September 2001). "2.9.2001". Jam-E-Jamshed.
Sources
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