Devil's Advocate: The Untold Story

Karan Thapar belongs to a generation of gentlemen journalists who had the tenacity (some may say audacity) to ask difficult questions and the necessary charm to maintain personal relationships. Sometimes his chamrs weren't enough- case in point being the 2007 interview with Narendra Modi which consequently made him persona non grata with the current establishment in power. Yet, this hasn't doomed KT (as he recounts being called by his classmates at Doon) - his recent interviews for The Wire still draw critical praise as the high watermark of the journalistic trade. For someone unfamiliar with the entirety of Mr. Thapar's social background, it often seems like he name-drops a lot, but then he really does have that man names to drop so its tough to hold that against him. The chapter on his friendships with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Benazir Bhutto and Aung Sang Suu Kyi provide interesting insights into the character of both Karan and the leaders concerned, making for a worthwhile read. In contrast some of his other chapters seem more like an attempt at retrospective throat clearing, rather than a genuine attempt to engage the readers- a prime example being the chapter dedicated to Lal Krishna Advani. At times the reader can be found wondering where exactly does Mr. Thapar draw the lines of journalistic integrity. To give an example: he is often arbitrarily willing to ‘redo' caustic interviews for the sake of maintaining relationships, yet just as often seems to put his foot down and refuse to do se. Where are the lines drawn exactly? The book could have benefitted from Mr. Thapar taking the reader through his journalistic calculus for making such calls.

This book in the end is a “what” book- full of little details that a reader would find interesting and insightful, but not a “why” book. Perhaps that's too much to expect from a journalist who still has many years left in his public profession, but it does count towards the three-stars i rate the book at.