This story is from September 5, 2007

It's my life:Sushmita Sen

TNN / Sep 5, 2007, 12:00 IST

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Sushmita Sen is writing an autobiography that she plans to call Butterfly. And Vyjayanthimala has just released hers, titled Bonding. How much do readers want to know?

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Sushmita Sen. (TOI Photo) More picsSushmita Sen is writing an autobiography that she plans to call Butterfly. And Vyjayanthimala has just released hers, titled Bonding. How much do readers want to know?
While everyone loves gossip, there’s nothing like hearing it from the horse’s mouth, which is why autobiographies of A-list celebs are always in demand.But some make for a gripping read, while others are destined to remain coffee table collections. So what defines a good autobiography?
Author Shobhaa De, whose autobiography has been a best-seller, feels a good autobiography should reveal something about the person that’s not in the public domain. “It should be insightful, inspiring, thought-provoking and must make for compelling reading. But then the person writing it should have a compelling story to tell in the first place.
Actress Liv Ullmann’s delicately lyrical autobiography called A Life is fascinating. But for that you need to be a Liv Ullmann first.”

De is looking forward to Sen’s autobiography. “It would be interesting to read what Sushmita has to say for herself. I hope she doesn’t play safe and sanitise her book or air-brush it prettily. She can sound like a megalomaniac. I’m sure she’ll hire a competent editor to help her,” she adds.
But actor Ashmit Patel, otherwise a bookworm, isn’t sure if he’ll pick up Sen’s autobiography. “I work with all the stars in Bollywood, so I’m not sure I’d like to read about them. But Hollywood interests me. I’ve read the biography of director Oliver Stone.

But it would be nice if Sushmita, or any other actor for that matter, revealed more than what the general public knows about them. Reading Satyajit Ray’s autobiography might be a good idea,” he says. And would he consider writing one? “I might,” smiles Ashmit.
Several popular autobiographies in the past have been accused of being ghost-written. While readers expect an honest account of a celebrity’s life, none of the works is completely devoid of fabrication. TV presenter Mandira Bedi feels writing an autobiography is a very brave act, but says they don’t fascinate her.
She says, “Most public figures don’t tell it like it is. Something’s always held back in autobiographies. John Wright’s Indian Summer is supposed to be a bare-all, but I haven’t read it.
Autobiographies need not necessarily be in the written form. A self account can be put out through any medium. For instance, Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker was based on his own life.
But while several stars in the west have put down their life saga on paper, it’s quite a different story in India. When Dilip Kumar was requested to write his autobiography, he politely refused saying a lot of his heroines would be hurt.
Even icons like Amitabh Bachchan and Yash Chopra haven’t yet considered telling their tales. But the evergreen Dev Anand will release his autobiography later this month in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The rest have always been the subjects of biographies written either by film critics or acquaintances.
Actress Minissha Lamba admits she isn’t much of an autobiography person, but says it’s a good idea to read the biography and autobiography of the same person. “Autobiographies shouldn’t be received with any cynicism. It’s, after all, more personal than a biography. Sushmita in particular has been very open about her life. I might want to pick up a copy,” she remarks.

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