Mahesh Bhatt's latest book gives vignettes of the thicker-than-blood relationship he has had with one of the world's less known Anti-Gurus - Late UG Krishnamurti (a Telugu)who led a life of anonymity, self-flagellation and was a reveller of blasphemies. Mahesh takes us through the last few months of a life led in reclusivity, gay abandon, no-no to all medical help to heal the body, yet principled iconoclasm which has its own charm. ("Your natural state has no relationship whatsoever with the religious states of bliss, beautitude and ecstasy. They lie within the field of experience."). Mahesh, I thought is a gifted writer more than a spirited film-maker, more sensitive and evocative in his writings than his movies which have trappings of a past saddled with negativity, guilt and failure. Where the book disappoints is the teasers it gives in letting us into UG's world - More Questions than Answers remain after reading the book? Why did UG shun the world? Where did he get so much funding? Who funded his non-career "career"? Why couldn't he jell with Jiddu Krishnamurthi who professes similar arguments with more fluency? Where is UG's family now? It seems as if Mahesh wants to make a career out of the questions galore on UG's estate, his legacy, and his invectives and idiosyncracies in more books.
