NEW DELHI: Author Vish Dhamija wants to learn to fly an aircraft. He yearns to savour this experience, one he calls the ultimate expression of freedom. But till that happens he is flying on the strength of his words. With his upcoming book titled The Mogul, by Harper Collins, around the corner, Dhamija has set the sky as the limit, figuratively and literally. After penning down six crime fiction books, The Mogul brings you the pulsating story of Prem Bedi, an affluent 53-year-old, blue-blooded business mogul. In his position, privacy isn’t a privilege. But things get dramatically out of hand when he is accused of killing his ex-wife and her husband. The court battle that follows, leaves Bedi gasping for mercy.
Very soon, things turn bitterly against him. His power and money no more seems to hold assurance. “Being accused of a double homicide could bring anyone down so, to that effect, Bedi’s life is no different when he’s under a cloud of suspicion,” says Dhamija, adding, “The basic idea behind the plot was simple. I decided the narrative would give the perspective of the entire ensemble cast, except Bedi’s. He remains convinced until the end that the clues have been maliciously planted to implicate him to cast aspersions on him, to bring him down.
He’s shown as someone so absolutely resolute in his belief that he stonewalls his friend’s requests to hire the best legal defence money could buy. Even when it’s evident that the prosecution is playing dirty Bedi doesn’t buckle under pressure, not even once.”There is something to be said about the intoxication of power and money that attracts both pain and pleasure. Bedi had both which made things worse for him. In his study of people for this book, the author sound it rather repulsive, that even after millions of years of evolution, the only benchmark of success is money. Once you have that, power follows, and things don’t always go well thereon.
The other thought-provoking thing that came about as we spoke to Dhamija about his book was how despite Indian literature evolving exponentially, has conveniently left out one genre that holds great potential for a riveting read, and that’s legal thrillers. This genre has largely been the domain of the United States and we wonder why, considering the likes of writers Scott Turow, John Grisham and Lisa Scottoline have been around for eons. “It baffles me too. Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason was published in the 1930’s and they had to be hugely successful for him to write eighty of them. Then John Grisham stormed into the scene in the late 80’s. Even without them it’s a no-brainer that legal fiction will find patrons. I mean a courtroom itself is designed to hold audience. If people go to courts to watch legal proceedings, it’s only natural for them to want to read about them,” he says convinced.
Perhaps it’s to do with the mountain loads of precise research involved while dabbling in legal fiction, that has kept Indian writers on the periphery. Legal fiction needs to be airtight. A certain astuteness in the subject in required to write a plot. “The twist, the courtroom scenes need to follow a discipline, which could be quite restricting in several ways. Although I am a law dropout, I still understand the subject matter, and thankfully, I have a lot of friends practicing law who I call,” he shares.
His next one is called The Heist Artist, due in early 2019. In this one, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, as the most stolen artist in history, takes centre stage. Not many are aware of that. Dhamija’s book talks specifically about one of his paintings called Poppy Flowers that has been stolen twice. Between books that are on the threshold of being launched and the ones that still on the timetable, the author has found time to construct a library for his prized possessions, that at the moment, are scattered all around the house.
The good news is that his wife, Nidhi, has finally acknowledged his as an author after seven books and has promised to get the garage converted into a writing studio. “My library would be a heaven for any crime fiction lover. Once I get a writing studio I might allow my wife to keep her books in there too,” he jokes. What’s not a joking matter is the fate of the book. The genre is still niche but Dhamija’s writing is compelling. It remains to be seen who has the last word.
Author speaks
I love vinyls on a radiogram or turntable
Old cars are a passion. I bought my fist vintage car, a Morris Eight, in my twenties. I’ve been collecting dinky cars since I was four. I have over 500 of them.
Single Malt Whisky is a favourite.
I would like to spend an evening with Woody Allen; travel to see penguins in the southern hemisphere; visit Falkland Islands
It frustrates me when people write in text speak (U r v nyc), or when people who’ve never read my work, give me advice on what to write