What do you think?
Rate this book
Vimal #29
हज़ार हाथ
We bring out the best of Surender Mohan Pathak in a five-book box set for the fans of the undisputed king of crime fiction. Painsath Laakh Ki Dakaiti, 6 Crore Ka Murda, Jauhar Jwala, Hazaar Haath and Daman Chakra are the most loved novels in the popular Vimal Series written by Pathak. They have each sold over 50,000 copies on their first release. Now we reissue them after nearly two decades. So let's brace ourselves for some perfect murders!
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1998
14 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
सुरेन्द्र मोहन पाठक
422 books387 followersSurender Mohan Pathak, is an author of Hindi-language crime fiction with 314 books to his credit. His major characters are Crime reporter Sunil (unprecedented 123 Titles), Vimal (46 Titles) and Philosopher Detective Sudhir (23 titles). Apart from series, he has written 60+ Novels in thriller category.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 25, 2017
In Delhi, a woman named Neelam, living with her baby and another young woman, is approached by a man who is crippled. He has some hold over Neelam, and begins to blackmail her for increasingly large sums of money. Eventually, Neelam, unable to scrape together the next instalment being demanded, approaches a confidant, whom she asks for the money without explaining why she needs it.
As it happens, this confidant—a taxi driver named Mubarak Ali—is the friend and accomplice of our hero, Vimal. Who is, in turn, husband to Neelam. Mubarak Ali goes to Mumbai, where Vimal has just finished cleaning up a mafia called the Company. Vimal is told of what Mubarak Ali suspects is happening—that Neelam is being blackmailed—and he sets off for Delhi, to discover who the blackmailer is. A man who, when Vimal finally catches sight of him, turns out to be a figure from Vimal’s past.
I’ll confess: I wanted to read this book because I know of Surender Mohan Pathak’s stature in Hindi crime fiction. I know that he’s written hundreds of crime novels, I know that Framed itself is part of a series (the ‘Vimal Series’) that’s gone on for more than forty novels. I was expecting something pretty impressive.
And it is, to some extent—through the middle of the book, as Vimal plots the downfall of the man who’s blackmailing Neelam, and as that plot plays out, with the villain finding himself caught in a tangled web which draws tighter the more he tries to break free. This bit was intriguing, well-plotted, and interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. Also, the fact that there’s very little description, and the dialogues are crisp and fast, staccato-like, makes it a quick read.
What didn’t work for me, however, was the overall premise of the book. Neelam’s reason for paying the blackmailer seemed too flimsy (and too filmi); Maya Ram Bawa, as the villain, was more a caricature than anything else; and, most of all, I couldn’t warm to Vimal. Perhaps this is a book that must be read as part of the series in order to understand why a man who seems thoroughly shady (he’s wanted by the police of seven states?) is the hero? Perhaps that’s necessary in order to appreciate the relationship between Neelam and Vimal, or why Vimal should be considered hero material? Personally, I found nothing in Vimal to like—down to the fact that some of the best deductions in the book are made, not by him, but by others. Vimal seems to operate on the basis, not of his wits or his prowess, but by his connections with people who matter.
The somewhat shaky English of this book is another irritant. Lots of Hindi idioms find their way, translated, into the text (”What is your good name?”, “Was I speaking Persian?”, “I am breaking my head over this” etc) and the frequent use of epithets like louse and dumdum made many of the dialogues sound as if they’d been translated verbatim from Hindi, rather than having been thought out in English.
Maybe I need to read Mr Pathak’s writing in the original Hindi in order to appreciate it better; Framed, at least, failed to impress me sufficiently.
As it happens, this confidant—a taxi driver named Mubarak Ali—is the friend and accomplice of our hero, Vimal. Who is, in turn, husband to Neelam. Mubarak Ali goes to Mumbai, where Vimal has just finished cleaning up a mafia called the Company. Vimal is told of what Mubarak Ali suspects is happening—that Neelam is being blackmailed—and he sets off for Delhi, to discover who the blackmailer is. A man who, when Vimal finally catches sight of him, turns out to be a figure from Vimal’s past.
I’ll confess: I wanted to read this book because I know of Surender Mohan Pathak’s stature in Hindi crime fiction. I know that he’s written hundreds of crime novels, I know that Framed itself is part of a series (the ‘Vimal Series’) that’s gone on for more than forty novels. I was expecting something pretty impressive.
And it is, to some extent—through the middle of the book, as Vimal plots the downfall of the man who’s blackmailing Neelam, and as that plot plays out, with the villain finding himself caught in a tangled web which draws tighter the more he tries to break free. This bit was intriguing, well-plotted, and interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. Also, the fact that there’s very little description, and the dialogues are crisp and fast, staccato-like, makes it a quick read.
What didn’t work for me, however, was the overall premise of the book. Neelam’s reason for paying the blackmailer seemed too flimsy (and too filmi); Maya Ram Bawa, as the villain, was more a caricature than anything else; and, most of all, I couldn’t warm to Vimal. Perhaps this is a book that must be read as part of the series in order to understand why a man who seems thoroughly shady (he’s wanted by the police of seven states?) is the hero? Perhaps that’s necessary in order to appreciate the relationship between Neelam and Vimal, or why Vimal should be considered hero material? Personally, I found nothing in Vimal to like—down to the fact that some of the best deductions in the book are made, not by him, but by others. Vimal seems to operate on the basis, not of his wits or his prowess, but by his connections with people who matter.
The somewhat shaky English of this book is another irritant. Lots of Hindi idioms find their way, translated, into the text (”What is your good name?”, “Was I speaking Persian?”, “I am breaking my head over this” etc) and the frequent use of epithets like louse and dumdum made many of the dialogues sound as if they’d been translated verbatim from Hindi, rather than having been thought out in English.
Maybe I need to read Mr Pathak’s writing in the original Hindi in order to appreciate it better; Framed, at least, failed to impress me sufficiently.
November 14, 2018
This was my first introduction to the Hindi pulp fiction writer - Surender Mohan Pathak. A friend gifted this book to me and I was curious to read it. No idea who the translator is as he/she hasn't been credited and I've no idea why the middle book of a series was translated either. Logically, if Pathak's works had to be translated into English, the publishers could have at least started from the first book of this 'Vimal' series.
That apart, one thing I do whole-heartedly agree, the book was quite enjoyable. The story is quite pacy and a lot of background is covered to describe past events since this was a 'middle book'. I liked the characters and it's a breezy read. You wouldn't be bored. I'd love it if more of these books are translated to English. Of course, sometimes translations don't do justice and some of the special hindi lines/quotes are lost in translation. The translator should have retained some of the hindi slang. That would have been cool.
But, if you are looking for something light and easy to read, this is it. It's not a must-read masterpiece but it's not some boring trash either.
That apart, one thing I do whole-heartedly agree, the book was quite enjoyable. The story is quite pacy and a lot of background is covered to describe past events since this was a 'middle book'. I liked the characters and it's a breezy read. You wouldn't be bored. I'd love it if more of these books are translated to English. Of course, sometimes translations don't do justice and some of the special hindi lines/quotes are lost in translation. The translator should have retained some of the hindi slang. That would have been cool.
But, if you are looking for something light and easy to read, this is it. It's not a must-read masterpiece but it's not some boring trash either.
April 29, 2022
I'm not sure how much of it was lost in translation, but the language and writing style didn't impress me. The story starts of as a typical Bollywood Mafia movie (could've been a good play as well) with a quick retelling of the gang wars that has led the characters to the present moment. The rest of the story follows the 3 main characters as their motives and past deeds are slowly revealed. It's also a step by step guide how someone can get framed for murder with a bit of police corruption thrown in!
November 9, 2018
A real thriller set in Delhi, simply wonderful. Very evocative. The ongoing adventures of Vimal are well worth the read.
October 29, 2020
i like vimal series
August 7, 2024
I like all books
Read
March 15, 2017"Golden-hearted criminals, policemen who work for both sides and villains in one shade of grey. If one or more of these factors whets your interest, you may enjoy spending an evening with Surender Mohan Pathak’s Framed.
Pathak, a prolific Hindi writer who has written almost 300 books, is no stranger to fans of pulp fiction. Some of his books have been translated into English earlier, and while reviewing The 65 Lakh Heist for Lounge in 2009, Chandrahas Choudhury called the translated version “a kind of canonized and reified pulp”, miles away from the real thing in both price and production quality."
Read the rest of my review here:
http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/twekI...
Pathak, a prolific Hindi writer who has written almost 300 books, is no stranger to fans of pulp fiction. Some of his books have been translated into English earlier, and while reviewing The 65 Lakh Heist for Lounge in 2009, Chandrahas Choudhury called the translated version “a kind of canonized and reified pulp”, miles away from the real thing in both price and production quality."
Read the rest of my review here:
http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/twekI...
October 5, 2016
It has been a long time since i read Hindi novel so ended up picking this up pretty much quite by chance. I had heard about the author and i 'might' have even read some of his works way back in time (20 years ago) ... the book was available on amazon as kindle edition for a low price so just picked it up on a whim.
A decent story i would say. The author needs to do a better job at creating suspense. It is not a murder mystery ... it is actually a murder conspiracy - murder framing mystery. The protagonist frames the villain for murder of his accomplish. We can see pretty much clearly how he does it and there is almost no element of surprise or wonder as the story progresses ... consequently, there is no climax for the reader. The story ends rather anti-climatically.
Overall the story was good and the framing was done in a simple yet interesting manner.
A decent story i would say. The author needs to do a better job at creating suspense. It is not a murder mystery ... it is actually a murder conspiracy - murder framing mystery. The protagonist frames the villain for murder of his accomplish. We can see pretty much clearly how he does it and there is almost no element of surprise or wonder as the story progresses ... consequently, there is no climax for the reader. The story ends rather anti-climatically.
Overall the story was good and the framing was done in a simple yet interesting manner.
January 21, 2017
It is strange that I have never read Hindi pulp, I have wanted to read it for since a long time.
First for those who were wondering is it easy to read the Devanagari text in Kindle. I must tell rest assured it works very well in both mobile screen and Kindle App.
I picked this up randomly, as I loved the title.It is a part of Vimal Series; this is 29th book total of 42 books have been published under this series.
It has all the elements of exciting thriller, a blackmailer, a cop, a reformed Don, and a gangster's moll.
I am looking forward to reading other parts of the series.
First for those who were wondering is it easy to read the Devanagari text in Kindle. I must tell rest assured it works very well in both mobile screen and Kindle App.
I picked this up randomly, as I loved the title.It is a part of Vimal Series; this is 29th book total of 42 books have been published under this series.
It has all the elements of exciting thriller, a blackmailer, a cop, a reformed Don, and a gangster's moll.
I am looking forward to reading other parts of the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews