Follow your heart if you want to write: Novoneel Chakraborty

If you could tell us a bit about the book.

The book that is coming out right now is ‘All Yours, Stranger’, which is a sequel to ‘Marry Me, Stranger’. So it’s a trilogy basically, the ‘Stranger Trilogy’. The book is about this Bengali girl, Revanna Bannerjee, who is from Kolkata, gets a job in Mumbai. It seems like someone is stalking her life, her decisions and everything else. There are big twists in the book. Book two picks up right where book one ends, it ends with a big twist. The final revelation and secret will be revealed in book three which will come out later this year or early next year.

Are you reading anything right now?

Right now I have just picked up a Marathi book called ‘Aiwa Maru’, which has been translated into English. I read a lot of regional story books (translated) because I think regional writers are doing a lot of experimental work, their structuring is very fascinating, better than contemporary English authors. So I delve myself more into regional translations.

Who is your favorite author?

There have been many, but, I think I have been most influenced by Ayn Rand. The Fountainhead just blew my mind off. Sidney Sheldon has been an influence, so have been Henry Miller and Franz Kafka. I have never tried to copy anyone, but these people have fascinated me. They introduced me to a world that exists within you. So my biggest influence…definitely Ayn Rand.

Do you believe in competitions?

Competitions? As in author versus author? I think it’s more about readers to feel that way, it’s very difficult. Until and unless two authors are writing the same story, how do you compare. When I started writing ‘Marry Me, Stranger’, I had three ways of narrating the story, so every story can be told in numerous point of views. There cannot be any competition that way.

There are a lot of Indian authors writing in English. Who among them would you pick as your competitor?

No one really. I write about romantic-thriller and nobody else in India writes about this genre. There are romance writers and there are thriller writers, but romantic-thriller is somewhat niche in India. I am one of the very few who has picked it up. So I don’t really consider anyone as a competitor. But, I would love to see people coming up with good stories, because, that will give the readers better stories and characters to read about.

Now that books are available on digital platforms, what do you think will happen to these printed books?

 Paper obviously is a perishable natural module, right now. I would love to believe that these books will exist. I am reading books in ‘Kindle’ now. Earlier, I never thought I would react to a mechanical book that way, but of late, I have got a hang of it. E-books are the way forward but I would love to see the printed ones. There’s nothing like it, the smell, the feel, reading it while lying down…I am completely a book person, so…

 You have a huge fan following. What do you think you owe your success to?

 Owe my success to…obviously the readers. They have appreciated my work over time. I don’t like to compromise with my story. I don’t write stories which are market driven, no, I don’t jump onto it. I tell my stories. If you want to find a voice in this amazing place, where a lot of people are writing, you have to follow your heart. You just cannot tell yourself ‘ow, this is the idea that’s working, so let me just replicate and write a version of it’. You have to say what you want to say.

What is your favorite genre?

Reading-wise, its, thriller. Definitely. While writing… I don’t know. I end up writing romantic thrillers (laughs).   

Is it the same for the movies?

No, I have written a movie. It is in the pre-production stage, a murder mystery. But with movies I think I’ll try something else. I want to write rom com, I want to write comedy.

Why don’t you write in Bengali?

You know, I get this question from so many readers. There is a huge gap in contemporary Bengali literature, no Bengali writer is coming up with anything that is commercial as well as it has a literary touch to it. Believe me, if I had a little more command over the language, I wouldn’t have written in English, that’s for sure. We write in English and we get compared to the international writers, they tell us how shitty we are. They are writing in their mother tongue, and we…it is a third language for us. I think we are pretty good at it. But, I would like to write a book in Bengali. My parents will be really proud of me for writing in Bengali.