/> Bollywood has entered a new era of biographic revelations. After Vyjanthimala and Dev Anand in quick succession, it's another cinematic icon Om Puri's turn to tell his truth, this time far more comprehensively and openly than any other film personality from India.

"I'm not going to lie in my biography," says Om Puri.The actor famous for his disgruntled-cop's role in Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya (half truth)is just back from a long shooting stint of Aziz Mirza's film in Toronto.

No wonder author Aparajita Krishna has chosen to call Om's biography All The Truth. The tell-all book to be published in English initially will be translated into Hindi and Punjabi.

Says Om, "It's something I needed to do for a long time, and do comprehensively. I chose Aparajita (who is a theatre and film actress and has directed me in a tv serial) because she's an old friend and I found it easy to pour my heart out to her. Unlike other biographies mine isn't about selective memory. I've told the entire truth about my life and relationships."

The author Aparajita Krishna has given three years of her life to putting Om's story together. "I've not just had lengthy dialogues with Om, but have gone repeatedly to his village in Punjab, to his acting school in Delhi to speak to all the people who've ever known him.

The picture that emerges is nost just fascinating, I believe Om's life epitomizes the creative spirit. He has lived his life in his roles, but his real life goes way beyond the roles he has played."

The author says the comprehensive biography is almost ready. "But for inputs on his career abroad. That's really hard to get. Every film that he has shot outside India has a history. I'm willing to wait. All The Truth isn't a fly-by-night product. I've given it the discipline and vision of a dream-come-true.

And all of it can't go into one volume. I plan to release at least three volumes, one on Om's cinema, the other on his childhood and the third on his relationship with women."

Wouldn't the biography open a Pandora's box?

Asserts Om. "I'm not afraid of the truth about my relationships. What is the point of writing a biography when you don't tell the truth?"