February 17 commemorates the passing of Ved Prakash Sharma, the maestro of Hindi suspense novels whose works defined an era. From his Meerut roots in 1955, Sharma rose to pen 170+ bestsellers, making detective fiction accessible to every Indian household during the 1980s and 90s.
What set Sharma apart? His stories sprang from real life. ‘I draw from newspapers and daily events,’ he often shared. The blockbuster ‘Vardi Wala Gunda’ exemplifies this. During a walk in Meerut’s Begumpul, he saw a sub-inspector brutally beating people—like a street thug in uniform. This shocking display of abuse ignited the novel’s core idea: a cop turned criminal under the guise of authority.
Released in 1993, the book shattered sales records with 15 lakh copies gone in day one. Its success propelled Sharma’s oeuvre, including ‘Kariigar’, ‘Hatya Ek Suhagin Ki’, and ‘Sade Teen Ghante’, into cultural phenomena. Fans waited eagerly for sequels, finishing hefty tomes in 2-4 days and even borrowing copies.
Sharma’s tales brimmed with intrigue—espionage, passionate affairs, cold-blooded killings, and societal ills. His unpretentious prose hooked readers across classes. Hollywood-style adaptations followed: ‘Khiladi’ with Akshay Kumar from ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi’, his script for ‘International Khiladi’, a 1985 film on ‘Bahoon Maange Insaaf’, and the Keshav Pandit TV series. Aamir Khan’s personal visit underscored his stature.
Honors poured in, from Meerut Ratna to Natraj Bhushan. Battling illness, Sharma left us in 2017, but his thrillers still fly off shelves, inspiring binge-readers and reminding us why he was pulp fiction’s biggest player.