Interview with Author Sonia Faleiro

Sonia Faleiro is an award-winning reporter and writer. She is the author of a book of fiction, The Girl (Viking, 2006) and a contributor to numerous anthologies including AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories from India (Random House, 2008).

Beautiful Thing (Hamish Hamilton, India) is her first work of non-fiction and is based on five years of research in the secretive world of Bombay's dance bars. It was a Time Out Subcontinental Book of the Year and CNN's Mumbai Book of the Year. Critics described Beautiful Thing as 'a brilliant, unforgettable book by a writer who is one of the best of her generation'.

Beautiful Thing is being translated into several languages. It will be published in Australia and New Zealand in May 2011 (Black Inc.), in the UK in August 2011 (Canongate) and in the US in March 2012 (Grove).

Sonia was born in Goa, studied in Edinburgh, worked in Bombay, and now lives in San Francisco. The excerpts of her interview taken by Black Inc.-

Can you tell us a little about your book Beautiful Thing?

Beautiful Thing is a work of non-fiction. It’s the story of a young girl called Leela who runs away from home after being prostituted by her father and reaches Bombay determined to build a new life for herself. She’s only thirteen when she gets a job as a bar dancer but because of her beauty and vivacity very quickly becomes popular, earning plenty of money and living the lifestyle of her dreams. When I met Leela in 2005, she was nineteen and hopeful that her affair with her boss, a man who was already married and had children, would turn into something more permanent. But very soon after, the government cracked down on dance bars, banning them on the grounds that they encouraged immorality, corrupted the youth and encouraged crime, essentially forcing Leela and about 75,000 young women like her out of work and onto the streets.

Leela’s story is about one woman’s fight to turn her life around, but it’s also the story of callous government and the conflict between different standards of morality, and about how we as a society treat our most vulnerable. It’s the story also of Bombay, a city I lived in for seven years and that I love, but which can be a pitiless place for those without status, money, or powerful connections.

How did you meet Leela, and what inspired you to start writing about bar dancers in Bombay?

I was introduced to Leela by a source. The man in question was a dance bar owner and I’d spoken to him after watching a news report on the city’s dance bars. There’ve been dance bars in Bombay since the 1970s and watching the report I realized how little I, and most people, knew about them. They’re a fascinating subculture, a microcosm of Bombay with a unique twist on spoken language, with a strict hierarchy and rules about social behaviour, with close connections to the world of crime, cops and politicians. There’s a reason why Bollywood films tend to feature bar dancers, although almost always in minor roles, or situate scenes in dance bars.

I wanted to know more about the world of Bombay’s dance bars and Leela was the perfect guide. She was very smart, and unlike any bar dancer I would meet, keenly aware of how people both in her world and the wider world perceived her. She had a great deal of empathy and although she’d suffered a tremendous amount she approached life with humour, goodwill and optimism. I’d originally wanted to write a long profile of Leela, but only a few months after we met the government ordered dance bars closed and I was there watching as Leela’s life started to unravel. It was simply devastating, and I knew the violence of the ban had to be chronicled.

Beautiful Thing paints a vivid and dramatic picture of Mira Road in Bombay. Were you surprised or shocked by the things you encountered in Leela’s life?

I was, even though I’d been a reporter for over ten years and spent much of that time reporting on marginalized communities. The hardest thing to see, however, was how governmental and institutional disregard for vulnerable people can have immediate and catastrophic long-term consequences not just on the people targeted but also on their dependants. For example, most of the bar dancers I met with had to take their children out of school after the ban. And these children, many of whom were the first generation in their family to receive an education, were sent back to the village they came from and either put to work in the fields or allowed to lie around frittering their life. So the ban didn’t just devastate a group of young women, it devastated an ecosystem of hundreds of thousands of people who depended on the women to pay for their education or their rent or food—to essentially to help them survive. The ban took a community of people who were self-sufficient and destroyed them.

You spent a lot of time with Leela researching Beautiful Thing. How did you find writing about someone who you had got to know so well? Was it ever confronting or challenging, and did you ever feel that you were at risk of betraying Leela’s confidence?

It isn’t easy writing about someone you’ve known intimately. But that’s my job and Leela was aware that she’d be written about in a particular manner—that I would write about her relationship with her parents and her best friend, talk about her lover, and so on. It was necessary to tell the whole story as it happened not only for the sake of the story but also for Leela’s sake: Leela chose not to be a victim and it was important for people to see that and respect it and the only way they could access that side of her was through the detail and intimacy of the particular story-like narrative in which Beautiful Thing is written.

Do you still keep in touch with Leela and do you know what her life is like now?

I’m not in touch with Leela. Readers of the book will know what I mean when I say ours was a one-sided relationship and the moment I was unable to pursue Leela we lost touch.

What is the situation for bar dancers in Bombay currently? Has the scene changed dramatically since the introduction of the new laws?

The Supreme Court has yet to return a decision on the ban, so it’s still in place, which means that while bars remain open they’re no longer known as ‘dance bars’ and cannot employ women to dance. Some bars found that they couldn’t attract sufficient customers without dancers and they were forced to shut. Others carried on, a small number employing former bar dancers as hostesses, others starting what is known as ‘orchestra service’, which basically means a live band. The ban hit not just the women but also the management of the bars, and worse, it created instability and gave momentum to the already-prevalent fear that no matter how hard some people work someone else would always control their future. The almost immediate destitution and the downward spiral in the quality of the bar dancers’ lives was obvious in 2005 itself, but I think the impact on the spirit of the city, on the confidence of its most vulnerable people, will be seen for a while.

What advice would you give to aspiring non-fiction writers for interviewing people, and writing the story of someone they spend a lot of time with and get to know well?

I think it’s important to pursue a story for as long as you can, as many years really, to understand your subject. For me I got to the point where people would say to me, ‘we really have nothing more to tell you, go home, get a life.’ So I was pretty persistent! Of course you have to draw a line—you can’t research one story forever—but I’d caution about hurrying because that can lead to incomplete knowledge. It’s also important to keep reminding yourself of your job as a reporter and writer, and to remain clear eyed and objective. There’s place for sentimentality in life but not necessarily in non-fiction.

You’re a novelist, non-fiction writer and journalist, are you writing another book at the moment, and is it another work of non-fiction?

I won’t get into details at the moment, but I’m working on another book of non-fiction.

( Courtesy: Black Inc., Melbourne)

New Arrivals at Booked4books

`On Dreams and Dreaming: Boundaries of Consciousness`; Edited by Sudhir Kakar; Published by Penguin Books; (Rs 349)

Mapping the uncharted territory on the edges of psychological knowledge, the essays in this anthology explore compelling aspects of dreams and dreaming. They discuss topics as diverse as memorable dreams, lucid dreaming, the role of dreams in the evolution of human consciousness.

`Satyajit Ray: In Search of the Modern`; Written by Suranjan Ganguly; Published by Penguin-India; (Rs 163)

Satyajit Ray was India`s pre-eminent filmmaker, as well as a major figure in world cinema. He made more than 30 movies and was awarded an Oscar for Lifetime Achievements in 1992. A truly cosmopolitan artist, he combined elements from his own culture with those of the West, creating a unique synthesis.

The book examines six major movies by Ray focusing on issues of human subjectivity, the importance of education, the emancipation of women and the rise of the new middle class and the crisis of identity in post-independence India.

`Unusual People Do Things Differently`; Written by T.G.C. Prasad; Published by Penguin India; ( Rs 279)

Unusual people are ordinary people who strive hard to do ordinary things. They are sensitive to nuances, look to provide lateral solutions, dare to think out of the box and often end up changing the rules of the game. The writer presents the experiences and views of 65 individuals from well-known names like Mike Lawrie, Azim Premji and

Mother Teresa to a chef, masseur and service boy to connect their achievements, journeys and inspirations.

`Table for Four`; Written by K. Srilata; Published by Penguin India; (Rs 188)

The book is a rumination on the burden of secrets, learning to let go and accepting the losses and betrayals in our lives. It is their last evening together. Maya, Sandra and Derek - graduate students in Santa Cruz and housemates for three years - are preparing for dinner with uncle Prithvi, the house owner. Sandra is prone to Orkut attacks, Derek pines for an Afghan boy and Maya who has the hots for Derek is terrified of the ocean.

The elusive uncle Prithvi communicates through notes he leaves all over the places. The trio, Maya, Sandra and Prithvi swap stories as they wait for Derek to come. Their lives unravel, spilling dark secrets and Derek does not turn up fearing he might reveal himself.

`The Valley of Masks`; Written by Tarun Tejpal; Published by HarperCollins, India; (Rs 349)

This is the story of a protagonist and his race, an exploration of the pathologies of power, purity and dogma, of men and their fantasies. Slightly autobiographical, the protagonist talks of his crusades, ego, his brand of spirituality, emotions, aesthetics and of a life spent battling a shadowy system of flaws in a valley, where everything is either masked or hidden behind veneers of civilized existence as he hears the call of the 9 o clock train and sees the sand draining off his hour glass. The characters are alphabets, numbers and words that convey their state of being in the tale.

Bollywood director picks new author`s book

New Delhi: A tale of horror with a dash of science set across three countries by a first-time author has caught the fancy of actor-director Satish Kaushik, who plans to adapt it into a film including international starcast.

Kaushik, has acquired rights to three books of Delhi- based author Shantanu Dhar who explores a world where humans cohabit with predatory vampires.

"I was absolutely taken up with the plot of Shantanu`s book and immediately bought its film rights. I think this genre of horror thriller is relatively new here and am looking forward to make the film," Kaushik told reporters.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games also features in Dhar`s book "The Company Red" which situates the story a year before the Games begin and ends a year after the sporting event culminates.

"My book is properly researched with inputs from various medical doctors. It is situated in a world where acts of predation is the basic theme. It delves into the life of a vampire exploring genetic abnormalities and how they cope with it," says Dhar.

The author who has previously been a student of English Literature is fond of Greek literature and gothic novels and had well in his past during his stay in the US brought out a comic strip lampooning politicians, says there was no particular inspiration for his book.

"It was really Satishji who pushed me to write the book after he read the plot. He thinks the story has the potential to become a success as India does not have too many films in this genre," says Dhar.

Kaushik who has directed "Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain," Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai and Salman Khan starrer "Tere Naam" says he might also act in the film.

"Shantanu wants me essay the role of the father of the protagonist. I actually want to give the book to friends in the film fraternity and cant wait to see their reactions. I am sure they will be quite taken up with the storyline," says Kaushik.

"You have to wait and see which particular producer or big corporation will take it up. I have a few names, including international actors in my mind but it is too soon to say," says the director.

While franchises like Twilight saga based on four novels by Stephaine Meyer that is based on vampire romance and others have been made into films there are next to none film adaptations in India, according to Dhar and Kaushik.

"Both Satishji and I do not favour gore and violence. So the book and the forthcoming film will steer clear of that. It is going to appeal to readers of all age groups," says the author who works with a leading corporate house and flits between cities in the country as part of his job.

"I write anywhere and everywhere especially on long flights and in airports. All my writing is done in a structured manner and have leaned on my 18-years of experience in the corporate world to create my characters," says the author.

Set as a trilogy, the book sets the basis for a young fatherless middle class Bengali boy who while trying to deal with various failures is thrown into a high flying corporate life that has a sinister edge to it.

"It is the drama of a young boy who is well-read ambitious to do good and raring to go in life but somewhere he

gets involved in a situation where he is denied the rights of a human being," Kaushik told reporters.

Dhar says, "In India there is no genre of a horror thriller wanted to write something in this genre but not a supernatural one. It tries to explore acts of predation and how man and other creatures in the world coexist."

The trilogy traces a period over 25 years. The second book in the series "Code Red" begins in London while the third "Red" is set in the Colarado forests.

"The basic structure and outline for the books are ready," says the author.

"I did not think of any format while writing. The book written in a visual manner and a separate script will be made for the movie," says Dhar who will not be writing the film script.

David Baldacci turns to family drama in new book

Best-selling author David Baldacci is known for penning page-turners such as `The Simple Truth,` `Split Second` and `The Sixth Man,` in which he guides readers through mysteries at the highest levels of power.

His latest novel, `One Summer,` is a family drama, a genre Baldacci explored in short stories before his debut novel "Absolute Power" made him a star in 1996.

"One Summer" follows Jack Armstrong, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, as he tries to keep his family together following the sudden death of his wife and his own life-threatening battle with a mysterious illness.

Baldacci spoke with Reuters about the stylistic departure.

Q: How did you get the idea for this book?

A: "I was at church for my son`s confirmation, and I`d gotten there early because my wife had asked me to save some seats for friends and family, so I had some time to think. I had a lot of things going on with my family at the time. My dad had passed away a year earlier. My mom was ill. My daughter was getting ready to head off to college. And I was thinking about my mortality, and this story hit me and unspooled before me -- the premise, the plot, the theme. I had to write it, and spent the next three months doing just that."

Q: "One Summer" is much different than the thrillers for which you`re known. What types of challenges did you face in writing the book?

A: "In some ways it was liberating. I didn`t have to lay out a lot of red herrings and clues. I could delve more deeply into the characters. Obviously, it`s a different sort of genre. But those sorts of stories were what I started with. I wrote short stories for 10 years before I became a thriller writer, and their themes were more like the themes explored in `One Summer.`"

Q: When do you know you have an idea worthy of a book?

A: "Usually, I rattle it around my head for a month. Earlier in my career I`d get an idea and say `Great!` But when I`d start the next book I`d realize I didn`t have enough material to justify a novel. As I`m thinking about the book, I need to layer the story to have plot and sub-plot, and then I have to think about the characters that could inhabit the story. And if all of that passes my litmus test, which is a feeling, an instinct in which I know I have enough material, I sit down and write it."

Q: What is it you hope readers feel when finished reading your books?

A: "Well, first of all, I hope they find it was an entertaining story that kept them engrossed as they went through the story with the characters. And I hope, with my thrillers especially, that they feel a little bit smarter than they were before they read the book. So if they feel smarter and feel like they`ve lived the story with the characters then I feel I`ve met all my goals as a writer."

Q: You`re prolific. How often do you write?

A: "While I love to write, I don`t write every day, because for me it`s a waste of time. Some writers stare at the page or screen until it comes. For me, that means I haven`t thought the story through enough. I don`t have an official word count that I work with. Some days I`ll write 100 words, and some days I`ll write 5,000 words."

Q: Will novels survive?

A: "Oh, absolutely. The world is a story and people have been engaged by stories forever. That`s how families swapped tales of each other. I think if books go away then humanity goes away, and I don`t think anyone wants that."

                                                                                                                             ( Courtesy: Reuters)

Arun Shourie digs deep into pain in his new book, 'Does He Know a Mother's Heart?'

The compassion of the Buddha and personal suffering combined to script a religion of pain and redemption for journalist-politician-writer Arun Shourie, who recalls the trauma of bringing up his disabled son and taking care of his ailing wife in his new book.

Shourie fell back on the teachings of Abraham and the Buddha when waves of desolation swept through him, and they helped him cling on to his moorings, he writes in the book, "Does He Know a Mother's Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religion".

He began to write the book, published by Harper Collins India, in the winter of 2009 after moving to Lavasa near Pune in Maharashtra. The move came after Shourie "lost interest in what he had been doing in Delhi".

Journalist-politician-writer Arun Shourie, recalls the trauma of bringing up his disabled son and taking care of his ailing wife in his new book.

"Your neighbours have a son. He is now 35 years old. Going by his age, you would think of him as a young man, and on meeting his father and mother would ask almost out of habit, 'and what does the young man do?'. That expression 'young man' does not sit well as he is but a child," Shourie says of son Aditya (known as Adit), suffering from cerebral palsy.

Adit cannot walk. "Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot stand, he cannot use his right arm. But he speaks only syllable by syllable," Shourie, 69, says in his book.

The father shouts at the child, curses him. "You are the one, who brought misery into our home. We knew no trouble till you came. Look at you, weak, dependent and drooling...," he lashes out.

But what if that father in question is "god", Shourie wonders. The perspective suddenly changes with the awareness that "father" is god, he says. "There must be some reason God has done this," he says.

Adit, he says, has a very high threshold of pain..."He has taught himself to bear unbelievable amount of it," Shourie says.

"He (god) says in his book that he alone knows what is in the womb; and how it is progressing," the writer says. Quoting ancient scriptures, he says: "God doth know what every female womb doth bear, by how much the womb falls short (of their time and number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before his sight; in due proportion. It is he who brought you forth from the wombs of your mother."

The writer, once a hard-nosed journalist who was editor of both the Times of India and the Indian Express in the late 1980s, recalls moving to religion while rushing a frequently ailing Adit to hospital. But another personal loss accelerated the spiritual journey.

"...One day as (wife) Anita was driving Adit and herself to school, a jeep coming from the opposite direction lost control. It rammed into Anita's little fiat. She and Adit were tossed inside the car. Soon after the incident, Anita began to feel peculiar sensations on her left side. Soon the stiffness developed into tremors; eventually she was diagnosed with having developed Parkinson's disease. She was around 42 at the time..," Shourie looks back in time.

It prompts him to question god's ways and infer a few eternal truths, which to the writer are strangely comforting.

For dealing with life and what it sends us, the Buddha's position is the most helpful, the writer suggests.

"Buddha explains whether the world is finite or infinite or both; whether the Tathagata survives after death or not...there is birth, there is aging, there is death, there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. They have to be dealt with...," Shourie says.

Shourie, who held portfolios like disinvestment, commerce and industry and communications in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime (1999-2004), has written at least 20 books, dealing with issues such as Indian law and polity, national security, religion, economics, and journalism.

A tete-a -tete with Advaita Kala

Tell us a bit about yourself, your family and your educational background.

I am a hotelier by profession and have worked and studied in India and abroad. I have a kid sister who is a lawyer from the London School of Economics; I live at home with my parents and a St Bernard.

In the last five years, I have called six cities home — so it’s been a pretty nomadic existence. I have, however, been in Delhi for nearly two years now, which is a record of sorts for the recent past. I have a real relationship of convenience with this city — I dock here every once in a while and it’s getting to be one of my favourite places.

I travel extensively. Every month, possibly for half the month, I am out of town. I have a real passion for the Indian Railways — I think it’s the best way to see and appreciate our diverse country.

I don’t want to talk about education right now, I am desperately behind on MBA assignments. I work a six-day job, have a novel to promote and my MBA studies — let’s just say my cup runneth over!

What inspired you to write Almost Single and when did you decide to really sit yourself down and start on it?

I have always written but it has been a very private endeavour, mostly an attempt to make sense of the world around me. The idea for Almost Single germinated as a result of some of the experiences that surrounded me. The rapid way in which the concepts of love and courtship are evolving and continue to do so. Also the fact that the ‘hunt’ was not necessarily the fiefdom of the male of the species.

As for sitting myself down and writing, well, I can be quite obsessive and do one thing and nothing else, and then there are days when I would go nowhere near the book. I need to disconnect and feel that urge within me to start writing again, some sort of trigger.

How much of your work has been inspired by your own life and experiences?

Bits here and there but it’s mostly fiction, even the inspired bits have been used in a mostly contextual manner.

What has been the reaction of your friends and family to your book?

I have great friends and family, and their support has been tremendous. I kid around sometimes saying that I have the strongest sales force because I have friends all over the country and they are totally tracking the book.

As for my work — their feedback has me on edge because I share extremely candid relationships with my friends so I know if it’s not working I am going to hear about it. But they are just happy that I went out there and did what I wanted to do and the book came into being, since getting published can be tough.

What kind of books do you like to read?

I am an avid reader and have a particular liking for the suspense genre, right from my Nancy Drew days to Agatha Christies, and the present conspiracy theorist books. I also read lots of biographies, I am a bit of a history enthusiast. I love books on the Mughal Era, historical or fictionalised accounts on the Taj Mahal are always welcome.

I like Maugham and Tennessee Williams, then there is Truman Capote, who I think is fabulous — the list is endless. I get into phases and then read books specific to that style or genre. For example, I am really into books in the genre of suspense right now that have biblical references/ characters — Mary Magdalene fascinates me.

Did any other work inspire you to write your book?

It’s hard to say who in particular influenced me since my reading habits are so diverse, but there are books and characters that I love — like Breakfast at Tiffany’s or characters in movies like the one Julia Roberts [Images] plays in My Best Friend’s Wedding — I love honest characterisations that lay themselves bare and allow themselves to be picked apart and are liked despite some glaring failings or frivolities, characters who are themselves and tell the world to bring it on, Aisha is like that as well.

An Interview with Aravind Adiga

Three years after bagging the Booker, Aravind Adiga feels he has matured as a writer and hopes readers will judge his new novel `Last Man in Tower` primarily by its literary quality and not see it as a work of social criticism.

"I am older now than when I wrote `The White Tiger`. I was ill for a part of 2010, so that has changed me too. I do hope I`ve matured as a writer. At the same time, no novelist should mature too much or he might produce boring works. One hopes to gain in power and amplitude while retaining a fresh and unconventional quality to the writing," the 37-year-old writer says.

"Any novel should attempt to create a dramatic situation that features compelling characters. Like other novels, `Last Man in Tower` should be judged primarily by its qualities as a story and not as a work of social criticism.

"I hope to tell a story that will entertain and challenge my readers. I am not making a statement about society or politics," Adiga told PTI in an exclusive interview about his just-released work which is a suspense-filled story of money and power, luxury and deprivation set in a Mumbai housing society.

Asked whether Adarsh Society would have been a better plot, he laughs, "Ha. The scandal of the Adarsh Society had not broken out at the time of writing this novel. I wouldn`t have picked it in any case.

"I wanted a completely normal housing society and the building in the novel, Vishram, is based on the real building in Vakola (Santa Cruz East) where I lived where I was writing `The White Tiger`. I wanted a normal, solid, middle-class Mumbai setting for the book."

The novel, published by HarperCollins` imprint Fourth Estate, is set in the Vishram Cooperative Housing Society, close to the airport, under the flight path of 747s and bordered by slums.

On how, "Last Man in Tower" began, Adiga says, "In early 2007, I read a story in a newspaper about a redevelopment offer made to an old building in Mumbai, and went to see that building. Back then, developers were making lavish offers of redevelopment to decrepit buildings in Mumbai- they would offer prices of 200-300 per cent the prevailing market rate if the residents agreed to sell their flats and move out.

"As these buildings are co-operative societies, all residents have to agree to such an offer. Often there would be one old man or woman saying `No`. This person just did not want the money- whether it was 300 per cent or 3,000 per cent the market rate - and tensions developed between him and his neighbours. I could sympathise with both sides.

"Of course the old man had the right to stay in his home if he wanted to; but on the other hand, what about the needs of his neighbours? In a democracy, what is more important, the individual`s right to dissent, or the overall happiness of his society? The question seemed crucial not just to Mumbai, but to all of India."

"Last Man in Tower" speaks of real estate developer Dharmen Shah who offers to buy out the residents of Vishram Society, planning to use the site to build a luxury apartment complex.

Initially, though, not everyone wants to leave; many of the residents have lived in Vishram for years, many of them are no longer young. But none can benefit from the offer unless all agree to sell.

As tensions rise among the once civil neighbours, one by one those who oppose the offer give way to the majority, until only one man stands in Shah`s way - Masterji, a retired schoolteacher, once the most respected man in the building.

Shah is a dangerous man to refuse, but as the demolition deadline looms, Masterji`s neighbours - friends who have become enemies, acquaintances turned co-conspirators - may stop at nothing to score their payday.

Book Summary of Sex On The Moon

Thad Roberts, a fellow in a prestigious NASA program had an idea—a romantic, albeit crazy, idea. He wanted to give his girlfriend the moon. Literally

Thad convinced his girlfriend and another female accomplice, both NASA interns, to break into an impregnable laboratory at NASA's headquarters—past security checkpoints, an electronically-locked door with cipher security codes and camera-lined hallways—and help him steal the most precious objects in the world:the moon rocks.

But what does one do with an item so valuable that it’s illegaleven to own? And was Thad Roberts—undeniably gifted, picked for one of the most competitive scientific posts imaginable, a possible astronaut—really what he seemed?

Mezrich has pored over thousands of pages of court records, FBI transcripts, and NASA documents, and has interviewed most of the participants in the crime to reconstruct the madcap story of genius, love, and duplicity all centered around an Ocean’s Eleven style heist that reads like a Hollywood thrill-ride.

About the Author

Ben Mezrich is the New York Times Bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House in addition to nine other books. 21, based on Bringing Down the House, was a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey. The film The Social Network was adapted from The Accidental Billionaires.

Amitav Ghosh, Henry Kissinger rule bestseller charts

New Delhi: Henry Kissinger`s ‘On China’ continues to rule the non-fiction category while Amitav Ghosh`s ‘River of Smoke’ is again the bestseller in the fiction list this week.

Fiction

1. ‘River of Smoke’

Author: Amitav Ghosh

Publisher: Penguin

2. ‘Last Man in Tower’

Author: Arvind Adiga

Publisher: Harper Collins

3. ‘The Emperor`s Writings’

Author: Dirk Collier

Publisher: Amaryllis

4. ‘Empire of the Mughals: Ruler of the World’

Author: Alex Rutherford

Publisher: Headline

5. ‘Leela`s Book’

Author: Alice Albina

Publisher: Random House

6. ‘Only Time Will Tell’

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Publisher: PAN

7. ‘The Abduction’

Author: John Grisham

Publisher: Hodder

8. ‘Chanakya`s Chant’

Author: Ashwin Sanghi

Publisher: Westland

9. ‘The Good Muslim’

Author: Tahmima Anam

Publisher: Penguin

10. ‘The Book of Answers’

Author: C.Y. Gopinath

Publisher: Harper Collins

Non-Fiction

1. ‘On China’

Author: Henry Kissinger

Publisher: Allen Lane

2. ‘Poor Economics’

Author: Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Publisher: Random House

3. ‘Deadly Embrace’

Author: Bruce Riedel

Publisher: Harper Collins

4. ‘Does the Elephant Dance’

Author: David Malone

Publisher: Oxford University Press

5. ‘The Emperor of All Maladies’

Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee

Publisher: Fourth Estate

6. ‘The Taliban Shuffle’

Author: Kim Barker

Publisher: Doubleday

7. ‘Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban’

Author: Syed Saleem Shahzad

Publisher: Pluto

8. ‘The Origins of Political Order’

Author: Francis Fukuyama

Publisher: Profile Books

9. ‘A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir’

Author: A.G. Noorani

Publisher: Oxford

10. ‘Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War’

Author: Sarmila Bose

Publisher: Hachette

Upcoming Movies based on Books: By Aniket Thakkar

In today’s filmmaking world, the harder job is adapting a book rather creating a new idea. You have to see the opinions of fans, make the tough choices of removing a chapter or changing the outcome. All these decisions have to be made and you can never have a satisfied customer, but the main goal of movie-based-on-books is to successfully adapt the core and sincerity that made the book. So here are some of the movies based on books that are releasing this year.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2

The finale of the penultimate series is finally coming to the big screen and if you see grown men (like me) and grown women shamelessly crying, it won’t be because of the amazing storyline, the heartbreaking sacrifices (Oops! Spoiler Alert) and the Kiss that every Harry Potter fan has been impatiently waiting for ten years. No, it will be for the reason that this is the end of an era; the one that started in 1997 and now fourteen years later is coming to an end. Be sure to not miss this cultural event, whether you love it or hate it.

WINNIE THE POOH

Winnie the Pooh, a cute and cuddly character has always touched the hearts of kids and adults for over 50 years now and is still one of the biggest children’s franchises out there. Disney is producing the movie and is a return to hand-drawn animation after their amazing The Princess and the Frog. Many of the voiceovers for the characters are reprising their roles and besides the lightning scar hero, this movie looks to engage and enlighten the younger generation.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Ok. It’s not a book, but rather a graphic novel, but this iconic character is known worldwide. The character was created in the 1930’s by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to show the spirit of America against Hitler. The movie does have the World War II era and also the villains are Nazis, actually they are the Nazi Deep Science division called HYDRA, the character does come to the present. But how he does, well you have to watch the movie in order to find out.

COWBOYS AND ALIENS

One of the newest ideas and a bestseller, this graphic novel brings two of the most common and oldest characters, Cowboys and Aliens, into one thrilling ride. The movie is about a Cowboy who has lost is memory and has some kind of device attached to his wrist. We find out that later he is a wanted man for murdering his entire town, but before he could be locked up, we get a otherworldly visit from some very unfriendly and majorly pissed off aliens.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA – BREAKING DAWN PART 1

This franchise has sky rocketed vampires and werewolves to drooling status and having Robert Pattinson playing a vampire and Taylor Lautner as a werewolf made all the girls screaming with joy. It has created a whole new fandom and many TV series (looking at you True Blood) have taken this advantage. The movie is based on the epic supernatural love story between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. The series was created by Stephanie Meyer and now she is being classed on the levels of the one J.K. Rowling. The movie has also taken some parts from the Harry Potter series, as such as dividing the final book into two parts in order to include everything from the book. So look forward for screaming fan girls and some paramedics to help the unconscious ones.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

This series has a very tragic past to it. The author of the series, Stieg Larsson, had died of a heart attack before any of the books in the ‘Millennium Series’ trilogy could be published. But once it had been published, it spread like wildfire. Many are already calling it one of the greatest crime novels ever written and there has already been an amazing Swedish (where the author is from) adaptation to the series. So, Hollywood is bringing their flavor of the series to the big screen with David Fincher (The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) in the director’s chair and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

 

ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Tintin might not be known that well in the States but internationally he is an icon. Tintin always had two quirky sidekicks, one was his ever-faithful dog Snowy and the other was the loud-mouthed, temper-tantrum Captain Haddock. This hero-journalist was created by Belgian artist, Herge, and now adapting this character is none other than Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson (Blistering Barnacles!!). Two legendary directors are producing and directing two of three planned movies based on the characters.

So which adaptation has got you excited?

                                                                                      ( Courtesy: The Plot, a blog run by BIG Cinemas)

Book Review: Chandra Mehendrou's 'In The Name of Luuuv' (By Gagandeep)

When I picked up this book, I didn’t know what to expect. Is it another chick lit; or is it going to surprise me and be something more. Frankly there’s no dearth of novels about people falling in love or finding love in spite of sad circumstances and of course, the happy endings. Honestly, this book isn’t a sprawling tale about two people coming together and having a happy ending but at the same time, it’s also not about sad endings.

A compilation of 5 short stories, not one of which has the ending you’d expect. It surprises you and forces you to think. The author makes an attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding love and soul mates. One message comes out loud and clear: Love isn’t the same for everyone. And there’s another one in the subtext which says there a soul mate for everyone.

It will make you want to read more and more till you finish it. It serves its purpose and makes you question yourself, and your quest for love and will also change the way you perceive Romance & Love.

‘In the name of Luuuv’ has interesting ideas and plots and the stories are written with a different view point.

In the first story, an old man remembers how it is to feel love, in its pure, unjaded form and how responsibilities & society takes preference over being with the love of his life. Once you read the first chapter you will find out what he goes through and the way he beautifully ends up feeling blissful for that lifetime.

The second story is a historical tale. A tale of Love and Deceit is spun around an interesting plot. It’s about futile love, where there’s almost zilch happiness for everyone involved, and a lot of heartache. The unusual story makes you visualize and it surely can be turned into a movie. The slave girl’s curse, the romance between the Queen and her lover, the fight, the betrayal, all makes you feel that you are watching everything. Once again the story has an unexpected ending.

The third story is about a well-educated woman, who lets her husband abuse her in every way possible, yet she does everything in her power to make her marriage work. However, the story changes and the girl ends up getting what she had been wishing for.

The fourth story begins like a fairytale, has a nightmarish ending but a big learning for all. The girl next door falls in love with prince charming, and then one day, just like that all hell breaks loose. This story once again makes you that you can visualize the events.

The fifth story is very contemporary and , it’s on internet romance which blooms via social networking. It’s about a girl who wants love and can’t see it when it’s right in front of her and you have to read it to find out because the twists and turn are quite real. I personally feel that the present generation will relate with the protagonist.

All in all, a good combination of stories. I can’t say that it will surely clear all your doubts, but it will tell you if you are asking the right questions. Any body from any age group can read it but they need to be mature enough to understand the hardships of life, the suffering people go through, the dreams & desires all of us have and also the fact that we all want to find true Love and meet ‘The one’. Not someone who would be just a Fling, but someone who can support, encourage, respect and prove to be the best support system.