Plots of gold

They sell in lakhs, churn out hundreds of novels in a lifetime and constantly finetune their storylines according to the latest trends. Aabhas Sharma meets the bestselling writers of Hindi pulp fiction.

Sitting in the basement office next to his palatial bungalow in Meerut, Ved Prakash Sharma makes a startling revelation in a matter-of-fact tone. “I stopped counting after 1.5 million.” Sharma is talking about his bestselling novel, Wardi Wala Gunda (Hooligan in Uniform), which is treated as a classic in the Hindi pulp fiction genre. “My books sell as they are a heady cocktail of what an average reader wants,” he says. His heady cocktail includes murder, revenge, sex and greed. Throw in book jackets in technicolour screaming murder, cheap thrills, raunchy women and a gun, and you have a sure winner.

Titles like Bahu Maange Insaaf (Daughter-in-Law Demands Justice), Aankhon Wali Andhi (The Blind Woman with Eyes), Dahej Mein Mili Revolver (In the Dowry came a Revolver) and Paintra (Move) have sold like no other genre in the country. The men churning out these potboilers prolifically might not be as famous as Chetan Bhagat, but enter the Hindi heartland and you will find that they are celebrities. Bhagat’s last book, Two States: The Story of My Marriage, has sold about a million copies — stupendous but still 500,000 short of Sharma’s Wardi Wala Gunda. Amitav Ghosh’s latest book, River of Smoke, has so far sold around 60,000; Shobhaa De’s bestsellers do around 25,000.

Take the case of Anil Mohan. This Delhi-based writer has written over 180 books in two decades. On an average, his books sell about 50,000 copies each. (He could be close to the 10 million mark now in overall sales. Though far short of the 400 million or so copies of Harry Potter books of J K Rowling, this is better than any Indian English writer can claim.) Still, he feels that he hasn’t got due credit: “When they [English writers] sell 3,000, it becomes a bestseller. What about our books?”

Full report here Business Standard

Evening is the new De

If 16 is sweet, 62 is svelte, at least when it comes to Shobhaa De. Here the glamorous author of “Shobhaa at Sixty” shares her perspective on aging with grace.

Even as she grows old she refuses to age. That's Shobhaa De for you — prolific author, one-time editor, long ago model but all-time icon. She turned 60 roundabout the same time India celebrated its 60th Independence Day, and that's when she came out with “Superstar India”, a saucily appropriate title to sum up the parallel she was drawing between her personal experiences and the trajectory of a young nation.

And now at 62, she has turned to more personal matters yet. In her recently published “Shobhaa at Sixty: Secrets of Getting it Right at Any Age” (Hay House India) she looks back at her own six decades and shares advice about enjoying one's time as a senior citizen. Advice is never welcome if it comes from someone who has done everything right the first time round. Luckily, or in the case of De, characteristically, the author is frank about her own mistakes and drawbacks, and in coming to terms with them, inspires others to feel as free with themselves. In this email interview, the Mumbai-based author answers questions on the concept of age and aging in her own sweet-62 style.

Do you think traditionally in Indian urban society (and probably villages too) people didn't feel such pressure to remain young as they do now? After all, life was in a pattern – studies, marriage, job, children, grandchildren. Within that, growing old was accepted, just as it was accepted that women never got to retire. Yet there was no superwoman tag to live up to.

What an interesting perspective! But you must remember, the mortality rate for women used to be very high those days. Most didn't survive beyond 50! Today, we eat better, live smart, are more fit — it's a worldwide phenomenon. The old pattern is no longer applicable. Women have broken through the mould. But yes, the totally ridiculous Superwoman tag has generated a new kind of neurosis and unfortunately, too many women are succumbing to the pressures of looking ‘hot' !

Full interview here Hindu

A sixer at sixty

In a world where expert speak is more respected than experience, Shobhaa De has redefined the way one looks at those past their ‘sale-by-date’. Shobhaa at Sixty, her latest book is a rap on the knuckles for the bratty Sonam Kapoor types, who have called the enigmatic writer a ‘60-something porn writer’ and a ‘fossil’. More radiant than ever before, Shobhaa debunks the myth that age is the enemy of female fame. With her slicing wit and innate panache she embraces both the realities and the supreme highs of being an incredible brand at 60.

Her being has inspired writers to spur their personalities into action. Shobhaa uses her vivacity as a sensational marketing tool. Unlike the stereotypical image of a novelist hunching over a wooden table, inking their way through reams of paper, her effervescence increases a few notches as shutterbugs and admirers flock to bask in her aura. Sashaying in her signature designs and striking jewellery, she has relegated ageists to the attics of antiquity.

Side-stepping all the criticism about her saucy writing, Shobhaa has been instrumental in reinventing sexual satire, giving it the verve and fascinating twist that is needed to rope in the culture vultures too.

Full report here Deccan Chronicle

Is it a 'bloody' coup?

It’s shaken up the literatti and most certainly the twitteratti — for iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s limited edition book (reportedly 10 of which are already pre-sold) of his autobiography — with his own bloodmixed into the paper pulp — got people into a vociferous mood yesterday.

Proceeds from the same will be going towards the sportsman’s charity to build a school. However, society still had plenty of opinions.

Publisher and writer Shobhaa De tweeted, "Sachin’s blood and saliva in an 852 pages book costing $75,000, weighing 37kg? Aaaargh! This blood edition OPUS sounds bloody awful, almost sick."

When asked if she felt this amounted to going to bizarre lengths to publish a book, she said, “In today’s highly competitive times — anything goes! It’s a publishing gimmick and a very unique one at that!! As a publisher myself, I may find it in bad taste, but since the whole thing is charity-driven — what a bloody coup!”

Full report here DNA

Related news

'Blood on book, bizzare but laudable act of charity by Sachin'‎  NDTV.com
Biography contains Tendulkar's blood‎ Yahoo! Eurosport UK

‘For publishing, India has been a mature market for long’

Shobhaa De Books, Penguin India’s new imprint, is unlike any other—not just in India, but also in the world. Indian publishing notches up another first as this is the first instance of a publisher tying up with a celebrity for a new imprint. And the man responsible is unsurprisingly privy to what will be the shape of publishing in the near future. As head of one the largest publishing empires of the world, chairman and chief executive of the Penguin Group, John Makinson is one step ahead of what the global publishing industry is seeking to achieve. In India to launch the imprint, Makinson spoke to Suman Tarafdar on the global outlook for a post-Harry Potter publishing scenario, the peculiarities of the Indian market and the changing shape of the book itself. Excepts:

With Shobhaa De Books, Penguin takes another step forward in India. What are the terms of this agreement and what is this step about?
Penguin has been in India for much longer than many other publishers. We have been growing at about 20-25% annually. We have always pushed boundaries, and this is another step in that direction. We are creating a new publishing identity—the first in which a celebrity ties up with a publisher. What we are hoping to do is reach across barriers. Shobhaa De has been a friend for a long time, her association with Penguin has been very successful, and this is a logical step ahead. She is excited about the prospect, which will see her choosing the kind of people she wants. The focus is going to be on personality, lifestyle, business, cinema and commercial fiction. This is the territory currently occupied by newspapers, magazines, etc. We completely judge her instructs. Penguin has a financial arrangement with her, whose details I am not disclosing. However, Penguin will have a small hub in Mumbai to assist her, besides the Delhi office. Also, in this list we are going to be very selective and just may have six books to start with. We want the list to be known for its quality.

Full interview here Financial Express

An event for Shobhaa

Shobhaa De was in the spotlight on Friday evening. After being a columnist, writer, author and saree designer, the multi-talented woman has now turned publisher too.

And all her friends and well-wishers showed up at the function to celebrate her big moment. There was a touch of corporate class, with Adi Godrej, Dr Vijay Mallya and Uday and Pallavi Kotak there; a splash of society with Haseena Jethmalani, Roohi Jaikishan and Anju Chulani and a long list of high-profile women— Chanda Kochchar, Naina Lal Kidwai, Zia Mody, Camellia Panjabi and Tasneem Mehta to name a few.

Co-hosts John Makinson and Mike Bryant from the publishing house mingled with the Mumbai crowd. Rahul Akerkar and Roohi caught up over cocktails and laughter; Diana Hayden found interesting company in Ashwini Kakkar and then Abhay Deol; and everyone praised Rashmi Uday Singh for her cool cake with a picture of Shobhaa and her book on it. French Consul General François Pujolas, Anish and Vinita Trivedi, Ranjit and Indu Shahani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala... the terrace was filled to the brim. Shobhaa’s children Aditya and Avantikka Kilachand and Arundhati and Anandita De were also present, proud as ever of their mom!

Full report here Times of India

'Aishwarya's life is a fantastic story'

 The camaraderie between John Makinson, chairman and CEO Penguin Group and author Shobhaa De is hard not to miss, even to the casual observer. “We’re friends,” he says candidly, adding, “and this is not a formal, professional association, it’s more personal.”

Shobhaa echoes the ‘we’ feeling, saying, “I’ve been a part of the Penguin family for a very long time, more than 20 years. It’s been a relationship based on a lot of trust, and this was the obvious next thing to be doing.”

The ‘obvious next thing’ she is referring to is of course the announcement of her own imprint, Shobhaa De books, under the umbrella of the Penguin Group.Minutes before her entry, Makinson had been all praise for De saying, “What’s amazing is how consistently relevant she is — she’s still articulating to modern India in that sort of brave, intelligent way she has, its concerns, hopes, fears…”

Full report here DNA

Shobhaa De, Penguin in co-branding deal

Creating an eco system is the road map brands are looking at to fuel growth. And the scope of partnership is not restricted to just products alone, but even the publishing industry.

Penguin Books and Shobhaa De have come together to launch an imprint of Shobhaa De.

The co-branding exercise between Penguin and the writer involves Shobhaa De handpicking authors, titles and subjects. Shobhaa De books will comprise of celebrity memoirs, guides and biographies — with a focus on lifestyle, business, cinema and commercial fiction.

In the official statement, Penguin said its partnership with Shobhaa De will extend its reach in Indian publishing, attracting new authors and readers to the Penguin name.

Full report here Economic Times

Shobhaa De, Penguin script new chapter

She's gone from editor to author, with a whole lot of diva thrown in. In her latest avatar, Shobhaa De has turned into a literary impresario, with her very own imprint for Penguin. With this, the best-selling novelist becomes the first-ever writer to handpick a collection of books. Shobhaa De Books will comprise celebrity memoirs, guides, biographies and commercial fiction. The co-branding might just make Penguin and De the new 'power couple' of the publishing world. India deserves to be better chronicled, she tells Anubha Sawhney Joshi in an interview. Excerpts. 

You have your own imprint now, the first Indian author with this distinction. What does that mean in real terms? 
It means a great deal of additional work and responsibility. I am hugely flattered that John Makinson, chairman of Penguin Books, believes I can deliver. But given my Type-A personality, I take this in my stride. It is both an honour and a privilege. It is also path-breaking, being a first in the Indian publishing industry. Given my long and productive association with Penguin Books, this is a natural progression and a well-timed brand extension. In any case, I have been a very active consulting editor at Penguin Books for a few years. This has involved screening and scrutinising nearly five manuscripts a week and weeding out the duds.

Full interview here Times of India

Judging the book by its author

There was a time when one sought out different and life-changing books. Today, everyone seems to be reading the same new books…

How do you do it? Your colleagues, neighbours, family and friends, how do they all do it? “I follow my nose,” says Dan Rhodes, author of Gold, “I am always on the hunt for the next book that's going to rock my world … my favourite thing is still going into a shop and coming out with something I'd never heard of. ” But if you stand in any bookstore, you're unlikely to see many people using their noses, they just head straight for the “new” Salman Rushdie or the “latest” Chetan Bhagat or the “most recent” Shobhaa De or the “new bestseller” from Paulo Coelho: it's a matter of judging every book by its author.

Seeking questions
I remember that in the days when I first began to buy books, almost all the people I knew were looking for one that would somehow alter the way life felt or the way they conducted themselves in life, because we believed that books could change life. Maybe that was the Catcher effect — most of us had read Catcher in the Rye and Salinger's other books in our late teens, at the same time that we were beginning to buy our own books; Salinger undid everything we had believed about writing and heroes and even about reading. So maybe when we searched long and hard in bookstores — reading page after page of the book, not content with what the flaps were saying — we were looking for something that could stand up to Catcher, a book that could make us look at what else life was about.

Full report here Hindu

Shobhaa De not amused with comparison to Jackie Collins

Shobhaa De says efforts to liken her to Jackie Collins 'as fake as botox'

Former Bollywood journalist Shobhaa De has hit out at efforts to compare her to British novelist Jackie Collins.

De called efforts to liken her to Collins — over the way she exposed Bollywood's scandals and secrets — as "lazy reporting". She also revealed that she detests Oscar-winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire.

The opinionated, and often controversial, commentator aired her thoughts at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

In a fascinating and thought-provoking session sponsored by Gulf News on Thursday, March 11 evening, De said the concerned reporter's effort to compare her to Collins "was as fake as botox." "It was a lazy reporter's way of tagging someone from Asia. It was a way of making me more understood to a US audience. But that reporter has since become a friend and the comparison does not bother me any more," she said.

Full report here Gulfnews

Bestselling Indian fiction queen tells it like it is

Shobhaa Dé takes on the corrupt political system in her next novel titled Sethji...

For everyone who thinks there is a world on the other side of the cupboard door, author Shobhaa Dé wants you to step out of the closet and embrace your inner Narnia. Or Oz. Or your inner Red Queen.
"With 16 published books, all of them bestsellers, I want to inspire closet writers and tell them to go forth and write," she tells Emirates Business in an interview ahead of her visit to Dubai this week, clearly ready to take on any aspirants for the bestseller list.
The model-turned-journalist-turned-novelist, 62, is one of India's best-known literary exports, leveraging her journalistic skills to document – in bonkbusting fiction and handy how-to primers alike – the story of a country as it comes of age and comes to grips with its newfound international celebrity.

Her works have been translated into 15 languages, her no-holds-barred approach winning favour with readers around the world.
And she will tell it like it is at the ongoing Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, where she will discuss her latest book, Superstar India, written as she turned 60 – a few months after the country itself marked its 60th anniversary of independence from colonial rule. She is also on a panel with Mughal historian William Dalrymple and Slumdog Millionaire author Vikas Swarup, discussing the future of India, which, by some accounts could become the world's third-largest economy (by purchasing power) by 2012.
Partly autobiographical in nature, Superstar India is nevertheless a fascinating account of one woman's journey alongside that of her country. Alongside some soul-searching of her own, she demolishes every cliché about the country while proving it to be true, neatly dissecting Indian society, its politics and its culture.
Dé is currently hard at work on her newest book, Sethji, which she hopes will be out next year. "2011, Inshallah," she replies with no hint of irony, when asked for a release date.
Reportedly a fictionalised exposé about one corrupt Indian political family (Seth translates from the Hindi to mean master, ji is an honorific denoting respect), Dé shies away from offering too much detail. "It's a bit too premature to talk about Sethji," she starts off. "But Sethji has certainly moved inside my head – which is the best and most important sign. I can 'see' Sethji. The book will write itself now."
She describes the writing process as "very visceral… organic".
"I do maintain notes… but rarely refer to them. Yes, I do lose lots of great lines and even plot developments, but I console myself that my imagination will come up with something even better at a later stage," she explains. "And so far that's how it has gone. A linear narrative rarely plays by the rules the writer sets out with. At some point the characters write their own stories. But it helps to have a basic structure to begin with."

Full report here Emirates Business

Shobhaa De turns activist!

To protest the recent attacks on women in two of Karnataka's leading cities, Bangalore and Mangalore, author Shobhaa De has formed the Sita Sene.

The group will gather volunteers - men and women - in Mumbai and meet at the Gateway of India on March 8, International Women's Day to protest.

According to information on her blog, a strong action plan is advocated, along with a helpline for women in distress and other measures.

Her blog reads, "I read the reports of fresh attacks on women in Bangalore and felt sickened. `This must stop!' I said to myself. The idea of launching a Sita Sena to counter the Ravanas came to me in a flash. I communicated it to my dear, dear 'blogdost' Aham, who immediately swung into action and created a site. His plan is to congregate at the Gateway of India on March 8, International Women's Day," she wrote on the blog.

She warns against people not taking action. "This is why I want the campaign to be a pan-India initiative. And soon we will have several Kabuls sprouting up all over India. Shame the men. Show your contempt. Speak up!"