In long hand8230;

Bunny Reuben hopes to readjust the perspective people have of himas a filmwallah with his new book Savage TrioThere are very few film jour...

Bunny Reuben hopes to readjust the perspective people have of himas a filmwallah with his new book Savage Trio

There are very few film journalists who pick up their pen to write fiction.Bunny Reuben, founding editor of Cine Blitz, is one of them. But there isnothing to ruffle the feathers of famous people or unearth in his SavageTrio, his third work of fiction. quot;Though I have written fiction earlierMonkeys On The Hill Of God 1969 and You, I And Her 1975 cinema haskept me away from creative writing. I am now trying to change theperspective people have of me,quot; says he.

Savage Trio has three stories set in the 8217;30s, 8217;60s and 8217;90s respectivelywhich are about adivasi girls The Temple And The Storehouse, A Train forSantha and The Man in the White Khadi Cap. quot;The stories which have anadivasi background revolve around three women who emerge stronger than themale characters. I personally believe that women in our country keep us fromchaos and towards sanity. They keep the kitchen fires burning, while the mendrink away hard-earned rupees. From this point of view, I am proud to be anIndian,quot; says Reuben. quot;There is so much to write about in this country. Filmwriting has taken up a lot of my time. My serious writing is not aboutindustrialisation or casteism. It is about the common man and his emotions.Though Savage Trio is about adivasis, it is not anthropological in nature. Ihave read a few anthropological books, but my work is about people,quot; hesays.

The book which has taken the veteran film journalist and author of RajKapoor: The Shalimar Adventure 1979, The Fabulous Showman 1995, Mehboob:India8217;s DeMille 1994, Follywood Flashback 1993 three to four years tocomplete, has been published by English Edition. Reuben describes the youngand new publishing house quot;a good distributorquot;. Slated for a release inCrossword on September 14 by Dev Anand, the function will also be attendedby Govind Nihalani, Sai Paranjape, Paresh Rawal and Tom Alter, among others.The introduction by English-Marathi author Vilas Sarang reads: quot;The threenew stories gathered in the present volume, longer and more sustained thanhis earlier works, give evidence of Reuben8217;s continued and advancing masteryof the craft of fiction.quot;

quot;The reading will be marked by a very interesting presentation. Theatrepersonalities Devika Sahani and Sam Kerawala, along with Sanjeev Vatsa andNadir Khan will enact passages from each story. The enactment will befollowed by the release by Dev Anand,quot; informs Reuben.

Reuben surprised Dev Anand when he approached the evergreen-star to releasethe book: quot;He had never thought that I was a serious writer because he onlythought of me as a film journalist.quot; Reuben has a few more boks lined up forrelease: quot;I have a short novel ready called The Lights Are Going Out, whichI will get published after sometime so as to put a gap between it and avageTrio. I have about three books in the pipeline.quot;

A consistently serious writer since 1951, Reuben8217;s short stories have beenpublished in American literary journals as well. He has handled thepublicity work of top-notch film-makers like B R Chopra, Gulshan Rai and RajKapoor. quot;I handled the publicity of almost all of Mr Bachchan8217;s films. Hewas at his peak at that time,quot; he says, adding, quot;Of course, he is still atthe top with KBC.quot;

8212; NILANJANA SENGUPTA