Very few civil servants try exploring their latent talents and passions not relating to their work. Among those falling into this minuscule but hallowed group is IPS officer Mr. Amit Lodha, who gave his all into writing and publishing his crime-thriller ‘Bihar Diaries’ in which he narrated his experience of catching Bihar’s most notorious criminal in 2018.
And now, he has come up with yet another book – ‘Life in the uniform’, wherein he gives his readers a chance to experience an IPS officer’s life through his own eyes. Mr. Lodha talks about the success of the books and his future plans in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds.
LIFE IN THE UNIFORM
Mr. Lodha’s batchmate and friend, renowned Indian author, Chetan Bhagat was one of his inspirations that made him write in the first place. After the success of his first book ‘Bihar Diaries’, the 1998 batch IPS officer had never thought he would go on to write another book as he believed that he had put his all into the first one. But fate had other plans for him!
“I hadn’t imagined that the first book would be such a huge success, and mainly because of that a lot many youngsters asked me to write another book. So I gave another try with ‘Life in the Uniform’,” Mr. Lodha told Indian Masterminds.
The new book is quite different from books that other officers have written. It doesn’t glamorize sensational cases and political fronts. It is just a straightforward book putting forth the life of an Indian Police Service officer in its raw and original form.
“I want to make the reader live my life,” he said. This book deals with a number of incidents right from tackling Naxal encounters to recovering kidnapped children as also his own experiences with politicians in Bihar. Mr. Lodha believes that it can also be a handbook for anyone who wants to appear in the Civil Service exams.
Mr. Lodha’s book shows the life of a policeman in the normal way that they live it. “In movies, you would either see corrupt police officials or officers like Singham or Dabangg. I wanted to depict the normal way that we policemen live in, without the glamor and embellishments,” he held.
FROM A BOOK TO A WEB SERIES
Well received by the readers, both the books by Mr. Lodha – ‘Bihar diaries’ as well as ‘Life in the Uniform’ will soon be transported to screens. Both will be adapted into a movie/web series and will soon reach a bigger audience.
Modern-day sensation and one of India’s famous director-producer, Mr. Neeraj Pandey, who has directed films like Special 26, MS Dhoni, Rustom, etc., will be producing the web series.
“I am delighted that my books will be turning into a web series and will soon be released on a big OTT platform. The production team is excited about the work, as well. I might also do a cameo in it,” Mr. Lodha exclaimed!
The shooting of the series will begin by June this year and we could expect the release of the first few episodes by November 2021.
Mr. Lodha’s journey in the service has been quite adventurous since the beginning, and fortunately, we would now be able to get a glimpse inside his life and work through his recently launched books and the upcoming web series.
