New Delhi: A voracious reader and a political pamphleteer during the Emergency, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani plans to pen an analysis of political developments in the country since Independence but is unable to pursue it for want of time.

"I have been wanting to share my experiences in public life but I don't have the time to do so," Advani, a former journalist, said.

The septuagenarian leader said he had received a couple of offers from some people for writing his biography or even an autobiography if he could spare some time.

"I have not yet made up my mind," he said.

Asked whether he would prefer a biography, Advani said, "Then it would be more of my personal life including my days in Karachi."

"My idea is to write an analysis of political developments in the country since Independence. How Indian Democracy and party system evolved, the experience of Emergency, the shift from one-party rule to coalition politics etc," Advani said.

Citing paucity of time as the "biggest constraint", Advani said, "The only time I wrote a lot was when I was in jail during Emergency and after the fall of the Morarji Desai government. I wrote five to six pamphlets for the underground movement during Emergency."

"It needs both time and concentration. Jan Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyaya used to find time to write even while pursuing active politics. He made it a point to write daily."

Advani, however, said he made it a point to take some time off his hectic schedule for his favourite passion of reading.

Interestingly, he is currently reading a compilation titled 'A Passion for Books', "a book lover's treasury of stories, essays, humour, lore and lists on collecting, reading, borrowing, lending, caring for and appreciating books", which he even took with him during his whirlwind Himachal poll campaign launch on February 12.

Movies are another weakness of the "Iron Man".

During a recent tour to Thailand, he told his tour guide, "Next time I come to your country, I would like to see the Bridge over River Kwaii, which I had seen only on celluloid."

Declining to comment on the failure of 'Devdas' to get an Oscar nomination, Advani said, "Lagaan, which was nominated last year, was a far superior film in terms of story and acting."

The latest 'Devdas' was "spectacular, extravagant with good acting and music but Kiron Kher's acting was the best".

Asked about the latest movies he had seen, Advani said, "Company and Vivek Oberoi's Saathiya."

Advani recalled that in early 60s' after a municipal poll debacle in Delhi, he had gone with his party colleagues to watch 'Phir Subah Hogi' and that he had left watching movies between 1942-57.

"Subsequently, when I was staying with my uncle in Mumbai, I heard that a person died of shock after watching a movie. I decided to watch that horror movie 'House of Wax' and later saw many Alfred Hitchcock films," he said.

PTI