by Subhash K Jha

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

In Hyderabad to join his actor Nana Patekar (who's in the city 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 by the other event."

The filmmaker has been keenly observing the politics of Bihar for several years now.

He undertook extensive research on the subject of the kidnappings. "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 history of kidnappings in Bihar in 3 chapters . We also have a chapter devoted to the making of Apaharan.. The book , priced at Rs1,500 is being published by Prakash Jha himself.

"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."

Prakash thought the kidnapping business 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 of this racket..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 the Beur jail (in Bihar) thrice and spent time with kidnappers. They openly boasted about their exploits...The book gives me the space to discuss these topics , space that the film didn't allow me."