This is the second book in the Money series by Sree Iyer. The first one was Who Painted my Money White?. That book spoke on the three things that pose a serious threat to Bharat – Fake Currency, Drugs and Terrorism. Who Painted my Lust Red, speaks about the other trio – the heady cocktail of Bollywood, Cricket and Politicians. Lust and money.
Actually reading this book should be made mandatory for all new female actors and models (after a good editor clears up the mistakes). It’s not that Bollywood and the Modelling world is bad, it’s the price that young women pay to find a foothold in these industries. Good looking young women getting drugged and raped is horrific.
Cricketers are demi-gods in India. Movie stars likewise. IPL – Indian Premier League has simply put these two “gods” together into a massive pot of money. Every politician from the UPA era seems to have a finger in this pot of money. Some seem to have several body parts immersed in it. We know about the untimely demise of Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar in 2014. There were rumours about how that was connected to IPL and the purchase of teams.
In the book I liked the idea of The Castrator and one of the junior ministers getting castrated. Its obviously a fictional character and an imagined event, but it puts fear into the “dirty” politicians. Sree Iyer has painted Dubai as the capital of debauchery. It’s also the place where the D Gang seems to function freely. The book refers to some of the news articles about erstwhile ministers hobnobbing with Dawood’s minions and some ISI, Taliban members in Dubai.
Money seems to be big motivator for all the things happening in Dubai. So important that everyone is willing to sell their soul to earn money….. maybe because money translates into power.
Who Painted My Lust Red – Summary
The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI in the real world), creates a 20-20 league cricket (IPL in the real world) and pulls in Bollywood and Politicians into the mix. Cricket fans fall for the league games hook, line and sinker as they are able to meet their icons in person.
The after game parties of this 20-20 matches are more an orgy rather than a celebration. That’s where young women, who want to be models or actors are brought in to glam up the party. The date rape drug is used to rape these young girls and no one knows who did it.
The Castrator quietly does his job during one such orgy. Then a few politicians who visit Dubai surreptitiously get emails showing the handiwork of the castrator. That’s how IB (Intelligence Bureau) gets involved despite the Home Minister being one of the culprits. The home minister tries to scuttle the investigation when they get close to identifying him …. but Karan, Priya and their boss Mike are super sleuths who manage to evade the minister.
The most telling evidence Karan and Priya unearth is about the Home Minister meeting with ISI and Taliban folks in Dubai on an unofficial visit. They also trace the money trail back to a company in India whose co-founder is also castrated and bleeds to death. That’s when they discover the identity of The Castrator. The IB chief says they shouldn’t reveal his identity to the politicians so that the threat of castration keeps them in check.
There are several editorial misses and the events are out of sequence. For instance Sheila Kaul becomes Shilpa Kaul. The nicknames given to the five politicians are confusing and difficult to keep track of.
This book is still recommended because it throws light on the darkest corners of the trio – Bollywood, Cricket and Politicians. Do read and I hope the author brings out the final part of the trilogy soon and hires a good editor to fix this book and the next.
Thanks Sree Iyer for using fiction to tell the truth.