Adventures of a Writer

 By Jaideep Sen Deewaar one of the two greatest Films ever made in Indian Cinema – the other being Sholay – celebrated its glorious forty-fourth birthday on 24 January, 2019. On the august occasion, I take a look at one of the female characters who provided the film with strength, style and substance. While many of you may think this is going to be an ode to Sumitra Devi, the mother of Vijay and Ravi who has gone into the hall of pride of Indian cinema, I would like to put the spotlight on Anita, performed with such flamboyance and great sensitivity by Parveen Babi-ji. Anita enters the film at a pivotal juncture in a high-end hotel bar and comes across as a upmarket escort who is instrumental in unintentionally saving Vijay’s life when he is attacked.  From here on Salim Saab and Javed Saab etched out a very understated, mature and progressive bond between Vijay and Anita.  Parveen Babi as Anita in Deewaar Consider this exchange between Vijay an...

Welcome to Week I of Authors' Tips: A to Z of Writing. If this is the first time you are visiting this series, here's a quick recap. Authors share their tips on writing fiction - and each week we talk about various aspects of writing. This week it's time to take a closer look at Inciting Incident Every story has a beginning, middle and end. But what exactly is the beginning of a story? Do you start at the very beginning with the birth of a main character and move up to one particular point in your protagonist's life? Absolutely not. Doing that would be the easiest way to lose your reader (if you are writing a novel) or audience (if you are writing a movie)! Beginning actually refers to the sequence of events  which is Relevant to your story. And the Inciting Incident plays a big role in acting as a trigger for your story (as well as the Main Character). Screenwriting guru Syd Field says, 'it sets the story in  motion' while Joseph Campbell cal...

Hello Everyone. I'm very happy to introduce you to author Ruchi Singh and her new romantic suspense book, Guardian Angel. Many of you have probably read The Bodyguard (and if you haven't, you absolutely must!) which featured a strong woman protagonist in the titular role. This time Ruchi brings to her readers yet another awesome protagonist. Want to find out more?  Read on...  Congrats on the release of your book. Coming close on the heels of The Bodyguard , is this a sequel or prequel? Can it be read as a standalone book? RS: Thanks a lot, Adite, and thank you for hosting me on your blog. ‘Guardian Angel’ is a spin-off from ‘The Bodyguard’ and can be read as a standalone book. It features Nikhil Mahajan, who is an important character in ‘The Bodyguard’ , as the main protagonist. Could you tell us a bit about your book and what inspired you to write it? RS: Readers loved Nikhil’s character in the previous book. I was getting quit...