Ajitabh: Will he tell all?

Mumbai, May 30: Ajitabh Bachchan hasn’t finalised the title, but it could well be named after the hit Salim-Javed screenplay Deewar ? the tale of an ego clash between two brothers.

Amitabh Bachchan’s estranged brother is planning to write a book that could throw light on the superstar’s personal and political life.

The London-based Ajitabh, currently in Mumbai, said this evening: “I would like to discuss the book at an opportune moment. At the moment, I can only confirm that I am writing the book.”

He, however, refused to give any details of the book. The brother has been camping in Mumbai for the last few days to also sort out a legal tangle over property.

Speculation is rife that the book would reveal the reason for the souring of Amitabh’s relations with the Nehru-Gandhis. The families were close to each other when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was alive, but relations deteriorated after his assassination. The furore over Bofors and Bachchan’s political sanyas are blamed for the rift.

The two families were recently involved in a public spat with Rahul Gandhi accusing the Bachchans of betrayal and Jaya Bachchan retorting angrily.

The book is also expected to look at the downfall of Amitabh’s ambitious venture, the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd ? the first attempt at corporatisation by any Bollywood production house.

Ajitabh was one of the directors of ABCL, which went into the red before the actor brother reinvented himself and paid off the accumulated debts.

The book may also comment on the superstar’s new business and political friends, which include Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sahara Group owner Subroto Roy and Reliance Energy chairperson and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Ambani.

Ajitabh, who is five years younger than Amitabh, has approached two foreign publishers, but is yet to finalise the deal. “We are negotiating with some publishers. We will make the announcement at an appropriate time,” he said over phone after a round of meetings with his lawyers.

Rumours abound that the younger Bachchan would sue the elder brother over a financial dispute.

However, Bachchan’s agent, Prem Shukla, denied this. “He is consulting lawyers over matters which are unrelated to Amitabh Bachchan.”

It remains to be seen if the book would be as big a hit as the Yash Chopra film that catapulted Amitabh Bachchan into superstardom and if the wall between the two brothers would ever crumble.