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This is a story of B L Gautam, a half- naked urchin from a hamlet in Haryana to an author of recently published novel, Andy Leelu. The life of this writer and media professional reads like a film script.

Once a distinguished Intelligence Officer in Indian Customs, Gautam is a Presidential awardee of 1998. His name caused tremors in the world of smuggling during the eighties and nineties. He says, "Once gone to âIntelligence' never comes back. When roused I still write letters to the apex power. I doubt if somebody reads them." Gautam eventually declined the award as a mark of his protest when the government meekly passed the buck after the killings of BSF personnel at the Bangladesh border.

At the mention of the risk of dealing with dons, he chooses his words carefully and says, "Risk in a preventive job comes with rewards. Integrity mitigates it to an extent. The power and respect that comes with the package might prove a honey-trap, if not handled with caution. There were occasions death came searching and I was luckily not there. To not be perturbed of such eventualities, I started taking myself a walking dead."

His thrilling exploits have provided him enough fodder for a novel. He plans to make into a thriller film. Gautam is also the executive producer of films like Khosla Ka Ghosla and A Wednesday. He now plans to come out with a collection of short stories that will have five stories across genres. Writing is his best refuge. u00a0