Three thriller tales

Film director Piyush Jha’s debut into the world of fiction begins with the book Mumbaistan, comprising three separate crime thrillers. Each story is independent, a tale on its own, and each story brings to life the complexities and ambience that makes Mumbai the famed city that it is.

The first story, Bomb Day, follows the trials and tribulations of gangster turned police informant Tanvir, and his seemingly cold-hearted police contact ACP Hani. The threat of terrorists destroying the very fabric of Mumbai life lays the groundwork for the tale, and while ACP Hani is a clever strategist with several tricks up his sleeve, many of which involve Tanvir, the terrorists too are as diabolic. Thrown into the fray is the rather enigmatic Rabia, whose intentions are, even at the end of this tale, rather unclear. Hani’s instructions to Tanvir to seduce someone in an attempt to gain access to a terrorist mastermind are novel. Until, as the startled defence force discovers, the reader stumbles upon a twist in the tale.

Injectionwala, the second story in the book, focuses on a vigilante, a doctor, who began his foray into the world of murder and crime after the death of his father and a kidney racket. However, Dr Porus Udwadia also has a personal problem — his girlfriend Saakshi Jetha. Saakshi is scheming and manipulative, and eventually, Porus’s injection murders and his role as vigilante come into direct conflict with Saakshi’s ideas.

Coma Man, the last tale in the book, begins with a memory, and the unexpected awakening of Samir Khanna, who has been in a coma since the 1993 riots. The world has changed a great deal, Samir discovers, during the time he’s been unconscious. All that he remembers clearly is his wife’s birthday. There’s also Raghu, who has secrets of his own, and Samir’s wife Bahaar, mysterious and beautiful.

Mumbaistan is fast paced and action packed, with plenty of suspense. The stories themselves are intricate in their own way, with twists and turns that can be surprising. The thread of romance that runs through all three stories attempts to lend the tales a certain poignancy, making those involved in chaos and subterfuge appear human in their actions. All three segments present multiple points of view, showing the workings of several minds as these characters traverse the alleyways and roads of Mumbai.

There is rarely a dull moment in the book, however, the sheer speed of the stories sometimes makes it hard to sympathise entirely with the characters’ motivations. While their backstories are interesting, their descent into what they believe is right, or wrong, as the case may be, as presented in Mumbaistan could have been a little slower. Too much happens in too short a space, without that much of an even pace. Characters come and go, abuses and local slang are tossed about, murders take place and killers sneer at officials. All taken into consideration, the several plot elements each story conveys require further elaboration. And the twists in all three tales are somewhat similar in their portrayal of betrayal. Not a bad idea in itself, but considering how the stories work themselves out, perhaps predictable.

Dialogue is a little stilted at times as well, although throughout the book most of the characters speak naturally. Characterisation itself, barring the action-packed scenes, is well done. Samir Khanna’s confusion after waking up many years later is particularly well done, and his flashes of memory give a very visual representation of his past. Porus Udwadia’s tryst with crime is unusual, particularly when the public sees him as a crusader on the warpath. Ex-gangster Tanvir ends up taking his seduction and marriage promises to his mark a little too seriously. ACP Hani and Virkar are both lawmen, and both have their own way of dealing with criminals and crime.

Then there is Mumbai itself — sprawling, crowded, dirty — and yet mysterious, old, and rich. Mumbaistan captures the little eccentricities, peculiarities and vibrancy that make the city what it is.

Mumbaistan
Piyush Jha
Rupa
2012, pp 248
195