HYDERABAD: Ashwin Sanghi, the author of bestselling thriller novels was in the city for the launch of his new book, ‘The Sialkot Saga’. This is what he had to say while speaking to Hyderabad Express:
How different is ‘The Sialkot Saga’ when compared to your previous books?
‘The Sialkot Saga’ first of all is much longer than my previous works but more importantly it deals with modern history because the story is set in post Partition India.
Did coming from a family of businessmen help you write this novel better?
(Laughs) Not really, after all I was running away from my business life but then after I wrote ‘Chankya’s Chant’ I was thinking what are the games people play in politics and then suddenly I thought to myself that business and politics are the two sides of the same coin and that’s precisely where the book came from.
Personalities from recent history like Atal Bihari Vajpayee make cameo appearances in the novel. How easy or hard was it to do so?
(Laughs) Well, obviously you have to be careful because when you are writing about characters everyone is familiar with you can’t take too many liberties. These characters are more like props. I am describing 70 years of post Independence India so how do I get the flavour of those years? It is by bringing in Atal Ji or Rajiv Gandhi or talking about the movies of that time. That’s how the backdrop for that decade is created.
Both the main characters in the book are not exactly clean. Who is the protagonist of the story?
(Smiles) So you have a white collar guy who pretends to be very polished but actually he is a sophisticated thug. On the other hand you have someone who is blue collared, also in a world of thuggery but is actually a little nicer. So, in other words these two characters are very similar in that sense. It is difficult to say whether they are good or bad. I think you will find incidents in the book where you hate these very characters but also love them.
Many compare Arvind and Arbaaz to Jeffrey Archer’s Abel and Kane.
Yes, of course, they are similar but is every sandwich a sandwich? Every sandwich has two slices of bread but what you put between those two slices is what makes it different from other sandwiches. I have no problem with people finding it similar to other stories.
Can we expect ‘The Sialkot Saga’ to be adapted into a movie?
I think it’s more likely that it may become a series.
What next? Are you planning to write another book soon?
I have co-authored a second book with James Patterson called ‘Private Delhi’ which is likely to be out this year. I have also got other books coming out in the ‘Thirteen Steps’ series.