Ujjain

Ujjain, an ancient city in Madhya Pradesh, serves as the origin point for one of the most dramatic transformations in the book's chronicle of women in crime. It is here that Archana Sharma was born on 17 November 1975, the eldest of four children in a lower-middle-class family. Her father, Balmukund Sharma, a former platoon commander of the Home Guard, ensured she received a good education, and as a young girl, Archana was known to be affable, talented, and creative. She spent most of her time painting and participating in cultural activities, and never missed the annual Ram Leela conducted by Mouni Baba, the eminent saint of Malwa. In these performances, she played the goddess Sita, her face the epitome of innocence, her tears breaking a hundred hearts. This early life in Ujjain, steeped in religious and cultural tradition, stands in stark contrast to the criminal career she would later build, a fact the book highlights by noting that no one knew when their Sita decided to swap roles with one of the Ramayan's most demonic characters and decided to play Ravan in real life.

Education and Early Ambitions

Archana's formal education in Ujjain began at Central School, where she completed her higher secondary education before joining the BA course at Vikram University. She dropped out after her first year, however, and was recruited by the state police. The news of her recruitment brought great pride to her family, but the excitement did not last long. Six months later, much to her family's disappointment, she quit the job because of the rigorous working hours. She then left home and moved to Bhopal in search of a more exciting life. In Bhopal, she was employed by Som Distilleries Private Ltd as a receptionist, where she befriended several Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs and was even accused of having a brief affair with a BJP MLA. Archana used this exposure to perfect her manners and polish her language skills, preparing herself for a life beyond the provincial confines of her hometown.

The Path to Mumbai and Dubai

Right from her Ram Leela days, Archana had harboured the desire to become a Bollywood actress. This aspiration finally brought her to Mumbai, the heart of Bollywood, in the early 1990s. She used the pseudonym Manisha Agarwal and tried to sell herself as the lookalike of actress Manisha Koirala. But in Bollywood, where clones don't find success easily, Archana ended up sharing the same fate of many other strugglers like her. Her brief flings with small-time actors and directors also failed to help her get film roles. Disillusioned and disappointed, Archana took all the odd jobs she got in the film and television industry, eventually ending up in an orchestra that performed in the Gulf. Though the job paid her well, it did not give her the lifestyle she desired. Then in 1994, Archana got her first prize catch. She was in Dubai as part of pop singer Baba Sehgal's troupe, when she met businessman Pritam Miglani from Ahmedabad. Archana managed to woo Pritam, who succumbed to her wiles and helped her get a resident's visa in Dubai. He also assisted her in opening a garment store in Sharjah. The couple got engaged in Ujjain and decided to get married in Dubai, but the wedding never took place as the couple parted ways acrimoniously.

Descent into the Underworld

After the failed engagement, Archana shifted to Mumbai once again and re-established ties with her family. However, after failed attempts to get good work, she returned to Dubai, a move that shaped her destiny. During her stay in Dubai, her path crossed that of gangster Irfan Goga, a former Anees Ibrahim aide. Archana, who was instantly attracted to his opulent lifestyle, did not have any qualms about becoming his mistress. Goga, in turn, put her up in a flat and introduced her to several of his criminal friends, including Chhota Rajan's right hand Om Prakash, alias Babloo Srivastav. This connection marked her complete break from the innocent girl of Ujjain, as she took the underworld by storm, executing several sensational murders, kidnappings, and extortions to become one of India's most wanted female gangsters. Considered a close confidante of Babloo Srivastav and branded the 'lady don with killer looks' by the Pune Mirror, Archana used her sex appeal and resemblance to Manisha Koirala to entrap businessmen and hoteliers alike. Her story, as the book presents it, is the transformation of a well-educated innocent girl from Madhya Pradesh into a hard-boiled criminal, willing to go the extra mile to make a quick buck and enjoy a lavish lifestyle, a journey that began in the cultural heart of Ujjain.