The vital difference between the private and personal realf an all-time superstar posits a simple question: Is it possible for such a celebrity to be taken sriously once the bright arclights of hit-and-run journalism are not on him? In a fascinating new biography, Pak star-politician Imran Khan has revealed that too much attention to his playboy image has had a negative impact on his politiocal career. Claiming that the kind of attention that he got as a handome, debonair cricketer has ultimately boomeranged on his fledling political career, Khan says that after graduating from Oxford, he found more articles were being written about his looks and ’sex symbol’ image than cricketing prowess. He says that controversies have dovetailed him and actually hampered his subsequent evolution after he sudddenly became serious and pursued a political career after having wowed the cricketing world for almosr two decades like a Zeus who towered above his team mates with his sheer presence, not to speak of hif formidable on-the-field achievements.

Sharing his most intimate thoughts with biographer FRANK HUZOOR (Phalgun Press), the charismatic man makes the right political gestures about improving Indo-Pak relations, talks abot serious issues such as reviving backtrack diplomacy and says that during their early years in England, he and Benazir enjoyed a nice, easy relationship which may have later spawned political differences but still, their common antipathy to military rule createed enough political space for meaningful interaction. The biographer is apolitical, and hence has not been able to make any real insights about Imran, the politician. But in any case, the book is likely to generate interest in those who wish to know whaat Imran thinks of the several women, like the one time Indian sensation Zeenat Aman, have had on him.

Slightly bitter about a failed marital life, the book, slated to be released shortly, will interest those who want to know what happens to a super-celebrity once he ceases to be part of the jet set in order to avoid been straightjacketed.He says that preserving his privacy is a personal prerogative, the author has given readers interesting details about Imran, the individual. Full of quotable quotes, the book is likely to interest those who have followed the remarkable career of one of the sub-continent’s all-time greats. Especially interesting are the refences that Imran has made about how a world bank controlled economic system ruled mostly by a successsion of rulers more loyal to Uncle Sam than their own country. Taken at face values, Imran comes out to be a serious level-headed man who has had his days under the limelight but is now desperately in search of a platform that will help his non-starter political innings into a more meaningful reality. Excellent pictures and an easy style of writing shows that the biographer has done his homework thoroughly.