Johnny Goes down!

Johnny goes down by Karan Bajaj is a very unlikely book by an Indian Author. Its a cool mix of Rambo and the author says Indiana Jones and that of a cute hindi movie and a Wild west movie. The protagonist – Nikhil Arya is an orphan in MIT who is all brains. Technical as well as computer. And all heart too.

He survives various extreme conditions without the CIA’s training and is as common as you and me. Yet, as uncommon as a lustrous pink diamond in a gutter in Mumbai. Common because he has a mostly civilian background and uncommon because he manages to not only survive but also succeed in all his extreme environments creating a successful track record for others as well as himself in the most unlikely ways. He is a passionate man who wants to denounce his passion very passionately at every stage but ends up being just as passionate about everything he does. And he does everything exceptionally well. Be it love making, money making or even computer game making. And of course he is tops at the game of survival. He touches lives and makes everybody love him. He is exceptional like that. Maybe movies and super hero comic books are full of heros like him. The lone riding gunslinger types. But this is the first I have read with an Indian protagonist. And I love it. Johnny goes down is a book of many shades and colours. It is one of the few Indian books that does not deal with bereavement and loss in quite the same way as others do. Its quite cheerful. Its actually up in the leagues of Jeffery archer types. I only hope and pray that he does not get type cast so that one book is like the rest. I cross my fingers for you Karan Bajaj... please churn out something exceptional and you have a faithful reader in me!

Love you!