His reading habit was so varied that in his early teens, he was reading both Maxim Gorky's Mother and the detective thrillers {Jasoosi Duniya} of Ibn-e-Safi. The detective thrillers-be it Indian or American pulp fiction-were a big favourite for their fast action, tight plots and economies of expression. He remembers the novels of Ibn-e-Safi for their fascinating characters with memorable names. 'Ibn-e-Safi was a master at naming his characters. All of us who read him remember those names . . . There was a Chinese villain, his name was Sing Hi. There was a Portuguese villain called Garson . . . an Englishman who had come to India and was into yoga . . . was called Gerald Shastri.' This technique of giving catchy names to characters would stay with him. The wide range of reading not only gave him the sensitivity with which progressive writers approached their subjects but also a very good sense of plot and speaking styles. Here, it would be apt to quote a paragraph from Ibn-e-Safi's detective novel, House of Fear-featuring his eccentric detective, Imran. The conversation takes place just outside a nightclub: 'So, young man. So now you have also starred frequenting these places?' 'Yes. I often come by to pay Flush,' Imran said respectfully. 'Flush! Oh, so now you play Flush . . .' 'Yes, yes. I feel like it when I am a bit drunk . . .' 'Oh! So you have also started drinking?' 'What can I say? I swear I've never drunk alone. Frequently I find hookers who do not agree to anything without a drink . . .' This scene would find a real-life parallel as well as a fictional one in Javed's life later. Javed
( Diptakirti Chaudhuri )
[ Written by Salim-Javed: The ]
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