CHENNAI: Born into an ethnic Marathi brahmin family, Sudeep Nagarkar was not extensively into writing in his childhood. He began with casual diary entries about his experiences and interests. Growing up, he completed MBA from Welinkar Institute of Management, Mumbai. He published his first book, a romantic novel, Few Things Left Unsaid, in 2011. A year later, he published its sequel, That’s The Way We Met, and hasn’t looked back since.
“After publishing my first two books, I became a full time writer,” says Sudeep. “I have published eight books so far which collectively sold more than a million copies.” His fan-base is widely spread across India with a majority in the 16-24 category as he deals with a lot of love stories. “In all my love stories, I ensure that the story involves all the characters and not just the central ones,” he says.
Sudeep’s last book All Rights Reserved For You was dedicated to his wife. “I am inspired by real life events and make it a point to send across at least one positive message in every book,” he says. It takes him an average of 45 days to pen a story, apart from two months of research.
Ask him about his favourite author and he says, “I don’t have a favourite author but among Indian authors, I like Jhumpa Lahiri.” His ninth book, Our Story Needs No Filters released last month, has already become number one on HT Nielsen bestseller list. Sudeep says that the book derives inspiration from events that transpired during the JNU protests in 2016.
“I saw innocent students being manipulated and brainwashed and wanted to narrate the untold side of the story,” he says. “I have kept the story line very raw. Though names have been changed, you will find highlights on people like Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rasheed, Umar Khalid and other pseudo-seculars who actively spread hatred and anti-national sentiments in the universities.”
He has added fictional elements to keep the flow of the story crisp. “I was very clear about the message that I wanted to send across through this book. Even when there are people who try to separate us on the basis of caste and religion, it is important to believe that we, as humans, are above such things.” In his future books too, he aims to add a social message.
Priced at `138, the book will be launched at Starmark in Phoenix MarketCity at 4.30 pm on August 18