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In the literary dock
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Debutante author Arvind Nayar is a full-time lawyer and his first book, Operation Karakoram, is billed as India's first political thriller
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Operation Karakoram by Arvind Nayar arrived in Bangalore amidst a literary buzz. Billed as India's first political thriller, the just-released novel (Rupa, Rs. 195) summoned up associations that are hard to combat. Such as Frederick Forsyth's deep background research, John Grisham's superb pacing, or Jeffrey Archer's taut twists in the tale.
Penned by a Delhi-based "lawyer by day, writer by night" (to quote the press release), what does the book offer at first read? An Indo-Pak political thriller. A potentially explosive plot that roams rather arbitrarily between locations. Characters stemming recognizably from political or media luminaries, hinting at little authorial initiative. A schizophrenic assassin. A traitor and his handler. A primarily passive voice narrative that begs for an infusion of action-packed thriller lifeblood.
Meeting Arvind this reader wondered: are the novel's innate flaws of execution cues to why no Indian has made a mark in this genre? Why didn't professional editors guide the debutant novelist to a fitting finale?
A third generation lawyer, Arvind gamely takes on all questions. He scores a few points as he defends his brief, even in excerpted eloquence:
The thriller is such a tough genre. Why did you choose to write one?
While studying economics, then law, at Delhi University, I often read three novels a day. I did pretty much all the Forsyth, Archer, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Ludlum, Irving Wallace books. In the late 80s, foreign fictional books and movies were often based on the Cold War. (Smiling) I was impressed by the genre, which requires research and technical skills. I wanted to do something similar from an Indian point of view.
Have other Indians succeeded with this genre in English?
I don't think so. Apart from Ashok Banker, who did Vertigo, then went on to A Mouthful of Sky. Now, he's moved on to the Ramayana. Amitabh Ghosh did just The Calcutta Chromosome. Vikram Chandra's The Srinagar Conspiracy didn't touch very much on politicians. We haven't yet come up with The Day of the Jackal or The Bourne Identity.
But let's look at the prolific Ram Gopal Verma. He didn't become what he is with just one movie. How tough was the going?
After my research on sniper rifles, rocket launchers, etc., I started writing around 1999. It took me roughly three years for my first draft in longhand. I was balancing it with a lawyer's long hours, often taking breaks of three days or a month in between.
Some readers, I realized, would have a background in the armed forces or in intelligence. So, I couldn't make errors about special information, which may be tough to find.
How do you think your novel compares with, say, The Day of the Jackal?
The obvious similarity is the basic plot about a political assassination. I have to admit I haven't read the vernacular thrillers. I wasn't aware if anything similar had been done in the Indian scenario... The reader should feel this can actually happen. Let's not forget Forsyth's novel was based on the OAS.
What feedback have you had so far?
Most reviewers have called it a spy book. But I was concentrating on a political thriller... When a reader guessed at the identity of the secret agent because of a hint in the book, I was extremely annoyed at myself.
I felt the Muscat and Geneva scenes were under-researched, not layered enough...
I'll try and defend this. (Thoughtfully) Through these scenes, I was trying to build up an international assassin. The idea was to show how efficient he was, not get into descriptions. At the Geneva bank, I was showing someone who was charging huge amounts of money, so he must be well known. Obviously, the bank manager was curious. As the reader would be.
Would you want to fine-tune your novel?
Yes, I would. Not necessarily the length, but the use of scenes, the sequencing, some of the writing. Between covers, you suddenly become less tolerant of any loose ends you might see.
ADITI DE
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