by Subhash K Jha

A week after the release of his controversial film Apaharan, on the kidnapping industry in Bihar, Prakash Jha will be out with a book on the subject. Apaharan, the book, also exposes the rampant kidnapping industry in Bihar.

In Hyderabad to join actor Nana Patekar (who's there to shoot Goutam Ghose's Yatra) for a press conference on Apaharan, Prakash says, "I've kept my book under wraps, because I didn't want the film to be over-shadowed."

Prakash thought the kidnapping syndicate in Bihar lent itself to a multiplicity of interpretations.

"There are so many layers to it; its dynamics and mechanisms are very intricate, right from the spotters who zero in on potential kidnap victims, to the politicians and the financiers. I've gone into the outsourcing of this racket."

"Many of the powers-that-be in Bihar during the last regime were directly part of it. I went inside Beur jail (in Bihar) thrice, and spent time with kidnappers, who openly boasted about their exploits. The book gives me the space to discuss these topics — space the film didn't allow me."

The filmmaker has been keenly observing the politics of Bihar for several years now. "I researched almost eight years on the Bhagalpur blindings, before making Gangaajal. We did almost as much research for Apaharan. Now we're ready with the book."

Elaborates the filmmaker–turned–author, "The book is authored by me, and several of my colleagues. The first part will contain the introduction to, and the history of kidnappings in Bihar, in three chapters. We also have a chapter devoted to the making of Apaharan."

The book, priced at Rs 1,500, is published by Prakash. "We're publishing it along with a 45-minute DVD on the film's making. It will be on the lines of Gangs Of New York."