Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt has slammed author Yasser Usman and publishers Juggernaut for an unofficial biography on him, saying the book is based on "1990s' tabloids and gossip magazines" and hurts his family.
The actor, whose life story is already being adapted for the big screen by his "Munnabhai" director Rajkumar Hirani, said he is working on his official autobiography and it will be out soon.
"I have not authorised either Juggernaut Publications or Yasser Usman to write/publish my biography. Our lawyers had sent them a legal notice, in response to which Juggernaut Publications said that contents of the proposed book are based on information available in public domain from authentic sources.
"However, from the excerpts that are appearing in the newspaper are partly based on my old interviews, but rest all seemed to be based on hearsay, 1990s' tabloids and gossip magazines, most of which are figments of imagination and not true. I have consulted with my legal team on the next course of action," the actor wrote on Twitter.
Usman, a former journalist, has already written unofficial accounts of Bollywood stars such as Rajesh Khanna and Rekha.
Titled "Sanjay Dutt: The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood's Bad Boy," Usman details the actor's troubled early years, his battle with drugs and his brush with law that landed him in jail.
The excerpts of the book have already appeared in the news but Dutt, 58, said he hopes the publishers stop sharing more stories from the book.
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"My official autobiography will be out soon which will be authentic and based on facts," he wrote.
In its response, Juggernaut Publications said that the book was a homage to Dutt but they will respect his wishes and "won't put out any more extracts from the book in short-form media".
"We are sorry to hear that Mr Sanjay Dutt was upset by our book on him. The author, Yasser Usman, an award-winning journalist and reputed writer on Bollywood actors, is a fan and very sympathetic to Mr Dutt. Yasser has chosen his sources and materials with care. He has relied extensively on direct quotes from Mr Dutt, his close associates such as Mr Mahesh Bhatt, and members of the Dutt family," the publishers said in a statement.
The publishers said the stories in the book are already in the public record for many years and the book has been painstakingly footnoted and the sources that the author has relied on have clearly been mentioned.
"Moreover, as has been said in most of Yasser's interviews and pieces in the press, he is a huge admirer of Mr Dutt's honesty and lack of pretense and believes these qualities meaningfully set him apart from the rest of the film industry. The book is a homage to those admirable and rare traits of honesty and frankness. However, to pay respect to Mr Dutt's wishes, we won't put out any more extracts from the book in short-form media.