Crime writer Surender Mohan Pathak to pen autobiography

Surender Mohan Pathak, known as the 'badshah' of crime writing in India, will come out with his autobiography this January.
Westland has acquired the rights to publish the memoir.
It will be published simultaneously in English.
Pathak has nearly 300 Hindi novels to his name. His writing career, alongside his full-time job with Indian Telephone Industries of Delhi, began in the early 1960s, with his Hindi translations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.
Pathak says it is a matter of great pleasure that he is collaborating with Westland to write an autobiographical account of his life as a writer.
"It is unprecedented and absolutely memorable for a mystery writer like myself," he says.

His first short story, "Sattavan Saal Purana Admi" (The Man who Existed 57 Years Ago) was published in Manohar Kahaniyaan, an popular magazine of its time. His first novel - "Puraane Gunaah Naye Gunahgaar" (Old Sins, New Sinners) was published in another widely read magazine, Neelam Jaasoos, in 1963.

After this, he began publishing a series of novels with investigative journalist Sunil Chakravarty as its protagonist; Sunil Series ran into 100 books.
Another popular hero created by Pathak for his second series, Sudhir Series, is private detective Sudhir Kohli. Jeet Series features a petty thief who has taken to crime driven by a heartbreak.

However, Pathak's most loved novels come from the Vimal Series whose hero Sardaar Surendra Singh Sohal is a gangster with a conscience.
Minakshi Thakur, publisher of the Indian Language Publishing Programme, says about the acquisition, "This will be a very special gift to his huge fan base. He is a natural storyteller and I'm sure this autobiography will be as thrilling as his novels."
Pathaks novel "Colaba Conspiracy" was voted the most popular book on Amazon.In in 2014.
According to Westland CEO Gautam Padmanabhan, "Surender Mohan Pathak has a following like no one else in the industry. We are honoured to be publishing his autobiography.