/> Warner Books

It isn't clear in this lucid treat of a treatise on the life of a Bollywood super-icon whether the book is about the seductive world of Indian cinema or the indomitably seductive powers of Shah Rukh Khan.

The two have been pretty much synonymous during the last decade. More books and films have been made on the life and work of this Khan than any other popular entertainer in this country.

Last year Mushtaq Shiekh, a popular journalist and a close friend of the superstar had put together what can only be termed a monumental labour of love. Shiekh's Still Reading Khan was a 500-pager with more pictorial passion and chatty chutzpah than I've seen in any star biography.

Anupama Chopra's ode to Shah Rukh's spellbinding stardom is far more initimate and compact crisp and to-the-point punctuated by bouts of humour that's occasionally directed at the star.

Chopra's aim is to give us an insight into the running of that great big dream factory known as Bollywood while providing glimpses into the very private life of one of Asia's biggest entertainers.

There's a dichotomy about being Shah Rukh Khan. Though the star is exceptionally exuberant, extroverted and fan-friendly he remains at heart a very private person. Chopra takes us to Shah Rukh's roots. Vignettes into the star's family life in Delhi his parents and his sister, give to the account a kind of fascinating frisson found to be absent in most bio-graphic accounts on celebrities.

The author has studied and comprehended the Khan phenomenon from very close quarters. Admirably she steers clear of turning her account into a dry academic discussion on Shah Rukh's art and craft.

What we see is a mercurial, spontaneous passionate and natural actor who is capable of going from malice to magnanimity, from teasing co-stars to gamefully heckling fans without making either action look unjustified.

Specially notable are the portions describing Shah Rukh's demoniacal energy and passion to get what he wants.

In all fairness, most of the incidents described in the book are well-known to Khan aficionados. Nasreen Munni Kabeer's outstanding docu-film The Inter Outer World Of Shah Rukh Khan covers just about everything there is to uncover.

The charm of Anupama Chopra's chronicle lies in its simplicity. The choice of words is almost always apt and the images created of the superstar's world are quaint and correct.

No misfit this icon, Shah Rukh in fact comes across as a star who takes his stardom so well in his stride that he leaves no room for pompous arguments.