Book review of Anu Aggarwal's "Anusual" (by Revathi Raj Iyer)

Anu Aggarwal

Anusual:
Memoir of a Girl Who Came Back from the Dead

HarperCollins. 2015

P-ISBN: 978-93-5029-739-1

E-ISBN: 978-93-5029-740-7

Pages 184 | Rs 299

An illuminating and profoundly poignant true life saga of a super model and Bollywood diva who fought destiny and re-emerged from near death

“Truth is stranger than fiction” is a much clichéd expression but nonetheless a remarkable catchphrase to describe this book titled Anusual by Anu Aggarwal, who is still remembered as the Aashiqui girl. In this short autobiography, the author has described the journey of her life in an eloquent style with literary appeal and poetic flair. An unflinching attempt has been made to share the details of her life without inhibitions, with a strong message that there is more to life than success, stardom and riches; and true happiness lies in total surrender and living in the moment. Anu Aggarwal has learnt this the hard way, after having faced the extremities of a tragedy and trauma that ripped her body apart, leaving her in coma for nearly twenty-nine days, but miraculously has come back from near death, to tell us her life story. This memoir reminisces each and every phase of evolution of her life from a student to a celebrity and above all, as a human being.

“Anusual” was her nickname coined by journalist Suma Varghese in the early 1990’s, acknowledging her status as a style icon, which the author has used as the title of her memoir to blend with her befitting personality.

Anu Aggarwal, a young, dusky lass from Delhi, and a student of the School of Social Work, who had assisted a Pakistani NGO for uplift of Muslim women and also crafted programmes for the repatriation of Afghan refugees with the UNHCR came to Bombay upon a friend’s invite with Rs 800/-, remnants from a Government scholarship, and a return train ticket back to Delhi to start her job with a German NGO. But she never went back. Spotted randomly by a talent scout in the crowded Churchgate station, Anu Aggarwal’s tryst with the advertising world began with Godrej Marvel soap which sparked a lot of attention. She became the most sought after and highly paid model and India’s supermodel, in an era where there was no social or sensational media to trumpet the accomplishments of a public figure. Within six months, Anu Aggarwal had become famous, a style icon seen on hoardings, calendars, magazine cover pages, everywhere. Fashion photographers made a beeline and in no time, her stunning looks and maverick attitude exposed her to the catwalk and she wasted no time in sashaying on the international ramp, as well.

A year and half later, Bollywood beckoned her and she was persuaded by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt to play the part of a homeless, orphan girl in quest of love in the movie titled “Aashiqui.” This was a runaway success, a major breakthrough in her career as a performing artist, alongside her overseas modelling assignments. The author portrays her various roles in movies including Mani Ratnam’s “Thiruda Thiruda” where she won accolades for her performance as Chandralekha. She was also nominated for a Filmfare award for her negative role in “Khalnaika,” an adaptation from “The hand that rocks the cradle.” Although the movie didn’t make a mark, the actress did. This led to her foray into MTV and VJ-ing when the channel was exploring to gain foothold in India. Bollywood fame took her to yet another level of popularity, when she also started endorsing brands such as Tata Tea and the controversial condom ad made by Lintas for an astronomical figure. A trilogy titled “Erotica” was her next milestone where she played the role of an Indian princess who spoke to the parrot about her erotic desires. With this, the Bollywood diva walked the red carpet at Cannes film festival where the movie “Cloud Door” was screened.

The author states that from time to time, she was drawn into spirituality to recoup. A year after Aashiqui when she was flooded with stage shows overseas; she got drawn to Vipassana and went through with it. Her quest for self-discovery was ceaseless.

She was on the cusp of taking a break from the razzmatazz, when Hollywood was opening doors for her. That became a turning point, says the author, when it dawned upon her that no more fame and money was going to quench her thirst for self-discovery. She bid adieu to tinsel town to find solace in yoga and started living in a yogashram in the Himalayas.

The book takes a sweeping turn as she writes about her varied experiences at the ashram; in a vivid and explicit manner. The chapters cover what she goes through at the ashram, coping with her own emotions, jealousies of some ashramites, life as a Karmayogi, her deepening of Yoga Nidra, understanding Tantra, experience on an astral plane, mutual attraction to the Swami; all of which make an interesting read and revelation. One fine day, as if waiting for the right opportunity, she gets kicked out of the ashram, when the spiritual leader was on a tour, and she returns to Bombay. As you read further, it appears as though she came to answer her destiny’s calling.

This is where comes the heart wrenching part of her story, where the author writes about the most traumatic and transformational phase of her life, the ferocious near fatal car crash. Owing to her Karma perhaps, miraculously she comes back to life only to further battle with the process of recovery involving excruciating pain and suffering. Her survival instinct and utmost determination to live on account of her own realisation through yoga and spirituality may have augmented her getting back to where she is today. Her narration of what she went through will touch every reader’s heart, as it has touched mine. Interestingly enough, Anu Aggarwal goes back to the ashram to embrace Sanyas and passes the acid test of endurance. The author has expressed all this with remarkable clarity and ethos and with a positive overtone.

The book is not bereft of a touch of humour, for instance when the author attributes appropriate adjectives for the Swami and Sannyasin, viz. Swamibitteryogi, Swamiglee, Swamiflusteryogi and Charlie Chocolatoga not wishing to reveal their true identities.

In short, this book is all about a simple girl from a humble background, who scaled the heights of super success and stardom in a short span of time, disappeared to become a yogini, encountered near death and spiralled on an astral plane, embraced Sanyas and has returned to Bombay to teach yoga. “Anusual,” a well-articulated and touching memoir straight from her heart, makes a very interesting read. In her new avatar, as a writer, Anu Aggarwal rocks!

{First published in Muse India - July/August Issue}

http://museindia.com/regularcontent.asp?issid=68&id=6670