New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) A new book seeks to exploreBengaluru's underbelly and bring out little-known facts aboutgangsters, who grew from small-time extortionists to dreadednames in real-estate circles in the garden city.
One of these dons was a die-hard Amitabh Bachchan fan whoroamed around the lanes of Shivajinagar wearing bell-bottomsthat his matinee idol had popularised.
Tanveer Ahmed was smitten by Bachchan after watching"Don", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar", "Trishul" and "Mr Natwarlal".
"Main Amitabh ka aashiq hoon (I am an Amitabh lover)," hewould often tell his friends.
"Tanveer was particularly fascinated by Bachchan's styleof brandishing a gun or a knife on screen. Back then,Bengaluru was unfamiliar with the gun culture. Knives,choppers, machetes and swords that outlaws referred to aslambiwali were more common. Tanveer copied Bachchan's fightsequences and began wielding his chopper in true filmy style,"says the book "The Bhais of Bengaluru".
When Bachchan's "Inquilaab" released in theatres acrossIndia in 1984, Tanveer, then 22, rushed to Naga Theatre inShivajinagar to watch it.
"The serpentine queue at the ticket counter made himrestless. He broke the queue hoodwinking others and soon gotinto an argument that took an ugly turn. Tanveer, who wasarmed with a sharp knife, stabbed one of his attackers in theheat of the moment. As blood splattered from the man's arm,Tanveer fled and took shelter with his guru Koli Faiyaz," saysthe book, written by Jyoti Shelar.
This was the first official criminal case registeredagainst Tanveer. He then moved to Mumbai only to return toBengaluru sometime later.
The book, published by Penguin Random House, also talksabout rowdy elements like Kodigehalli Mune Gowda, MuthappaRai, Sreedhar, 'Boot House' Kumar aka Oil Kumar, Bekkina KannuRajendra and Srirampura Kitty and how they spread terror inBengaluru.
Muthappa Rai, Agni Sreedhar and Tanveer are now areformed bunch. PTI ZMNSHD.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.