The story that never made it to the screen ended up becoming a bestseller. When a horror web series scripted by S K Harinath failed to take off, he could have let the story sit in a drawer. But the Thiruvananthapuram-based writer believed it had more to offer and reworked it into a novel.
Published in 2023, ‘Karuthachan’ has since found a wide readership, reaching its 55th edition in just three years. It is now Green Books’ second most published title after ‘Aadujeevitham’. For Harinath, who had long dreamed of a career in cinema, the book’s success has taken his writing journey in an unexpected direction.
“I had been writing short stories since college, but my ambition was always to work in cinema. I assisted with a few television serials and took my stories to several directors, hoping to find an opportunity. But things didn’t work out. I then decided to publish my stories as books. My first book was ‘Prakasha Rahasyam’, a short-story collection, but it was my second book, ‘Karuthachan’, that brought me wider recognition,” says Harinath.
‘Karuthachan’ follows Shefeeq as he sets out to uncover the circumstances behind the suicide of his girlfriend, Airin. His search leads him into a world of supernatural forces, where seemingly unconnected incidents and characters gradually reveal a disturbing history.
The satanic backdrop lends the story a distinctive edge in a genre that has relatively few such narratives in Malayalam.
“I have always loved listening to horror stories. I enjoy taking those ideas and developing them further in my imagination. Perhaps many readers feel the same way. There is something thrilling about experiencing fear while knowing you are safe, whether you are listening to a story or watching a film. That enjoyment could be one reason people connect with horror fiction,” he says.
Following the book’s success, Harinath came to be identified with the genre. His subsequent publications include ‘Kumaran’, a collection of horror stories, alongside ‘Kubera’, a children’s book, and ‘Mannu’, a short-story collection. Yet the world of ‘Karuthachan’ continues to occupy a special place in his relationship with readers.
Readers have come to describe ‘Karuthachan’ as the “Dracula of Malayalam literature”.
Harinath says the novel’s imagined locations have also sparked curiosity among readers, with some trying to find the places described in its pages.
“All those places are imaginary, but some readers have actually gone looking for them. A few have even called me to tell me about it,” he says.
Instagram has helped ‘Karuthachan’ find new readers, with reader reviews, reels and collaborations generating conversations around the book. “I was more active on Facebook before, but the readers brought me to Instagram. Seeing the response there made me realise how many young people are interested in books,” he says.
Harinath believes accessibility plays an important role in attracting younger readers. Books that entertain, speak in a familiar language and hold their attention can become an entry point to reading, he says.
While some readers eventually explore more complex literary works, others continue to enjoy lighter fiction. Online discussions, meanwhile, have helped bring established writers and new voices into the same literary space.
“I write primarily to entertain people. Horror is the world I enjoy writing in,” he says.
Amid conversations about a possible film adaptation of Karuthachan, Harinath is also working on a horror short film and another novel. For a writer whose earliest ambitions lay in cinema, the possibility of seeing his work return to the screen brings his journey a little closer to where it began.