The 65 Lakh Heist
Encyclopedia
The 65 Lakh Heist is first English version (translated by Sudarshan Purohit) of any Surender Mohan Pathak
book. The hindi crime thriller पैंसठ लाख की डकैती (Painstth Lakh ki Dacoity). was first published in 1977. The novel revolves around the exploit of Vimal and his friends that is breaking the vault the Bharat Bank at Amritsar
to loot 65 Lakh
rupees
inside it. It was the 4th book in the series.. The main villain
in the story is Mayaram Bawa, a veteran vault-buster who is making preparations to do his life's biggest feat before he calls it a day, for that he has to blackmail into submission an innocent looking chauffeur
called Vimal, (whose actual name is Sardar Surender Singh Sohal), and who is a criminal wanted for embezzlement
in Allahabad
( he actually didn't do it), murder of Lady Shanta Gokuldas in Bombay ( he had to do it to prevent rape
and death of a young girl), the robbery of Anna Stadium's gate money at Madras (he was blackmailed
into it (like always)). Bawa's deal is straight - say no and go to jail or say yes and get your share. But after they get the money (mainly due to hardwork, presence of mind
and integrity of Vimal) Bawa shows his true colours and runs away with all the stuff, after ruthlessly killing the innocent Karamchand and the jovial Laabh Singh "Matar Paneer" (the two other partners). Vimal goes after Bawa and punishes him by breaking both of his legs. Bawa's life is spared due to mercy of Neelam, Vimal's girlfriend
. But something goes terribly wrong - Harnaam Singh Grewal, the topgun of Punjab underworld gets the smell of greenbacks and an amazing gang battle ensues.
The novel begun the trend of anti-heroism
in Indian pulp fiction
and was very controversial.
Surender Mohan Pathak
Surender Mohan Pathak is an author of Hindi-language crime fiction with nearly 300 novels to his credit. His writing career, along with his full time job in Indian Telephone Industries, Delhi, began in the early 1960s with his brilliant Hindi translations of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, and...
book. The hindi crime thriller पैंसठ लाख की डकैती (Painstth Lakh ki Dacoity). was first published in 1977. The novel revolves around the exploit of Vimal and his friends that is breaking the vault the Bharat Bank at Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
to loot 65 Lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
rupees
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
inside it. It was the 4th book in the series.. The main villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
in the story is Mayaram Bawa, a veteran vault-buster who is making preparations to do his life's biggest feat before he calls it a day, for that he has to blackmail into submission an innocent looking chauffeur
Chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
called Vimal, (whose actual name is Sardar Surender Singh Sohal), and who is a criminal wanted for embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
in Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
( he actually didn't do it), murder of Lady Shanta Gokuldas in Bombay ( he had to do it to prevent rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and death of a young girl), the robbery of Anna Stadium's gate money at Madras (he was blackmailed
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
into it (like always)). Bawa's deal is straight - say no and go to jail or say yes and get your share. But after they get the money (mainly due to hardwork, presence of mind
Presence of Mind
Presence of Mind is a 1999 feature film. The film is based on the story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. A woman is hired to watch over two recently orphaned children, Flora and her brother Miles . The woman starts seeing ghosts and the children begin some very peculiar and disturbing behavior....
and integrity of Vimal) Bawa shows his true colours and runs away with all the stuff, after ruthlessly killing the innocent Karamchand and the jovial Laabh Singh "Matar Paneer" (the two other partners). Vimal goes after Bawa and punishes him by breaking both of his legs. Bawa's life is spared due to mercy of Neelam, Vimal's girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
. But something goes terribly wrong - Harnaam Singh Grewal, the topgun of Punjab underworld gets the smell of greenbacks and an amazing gang battle ensues.
The novel begun the trend of anti-heroism
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
in Indian pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
and was very controversial.