Rajashree

“The next best thing to a course at FTII.” - Bharati Shankar Hemmady

“Rajashree is like the energy drink Red Bull! She motivates you to spring into action and pushes you to deliver beyond your limits.” - Priya Saraiya

Rajashree, an award-winning film-maker and bestselling novelist, is conducting a course in film and television direction, from concept to screen, with full-day classes on 11 Sundays and 3 Saturdays over three months, in Andheri (West), Bombay. She has taught at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and some of the best film schools in Bombay.

Please contact 9769449556 or rajashree.in@gmail.com for more information.

This course has been especially designed for people who are passionately interested in learning to make films, but work or go to college on weekdays. It will be conducted in an air-conditioned classroom in Andheri (West), near the railway station. (It is also possible for students who live out of town to attend the theory classes and scriptwriting practicals online via webconferencing and come to Bombay for the camera and editing practicals which would be held on consecutive days for their convenience.)

More than 50% of class time would be devoted to hands-on film-making, so that the students learn how to transform their ideas into films. While the course is practical-oriented, the theory portion would help the students develop a sound understanding of the basics of story-telling and film-making. They would write and direct a short film, which can be submitted to film festivals as well as used as their showreel. The fees, which include the basic production cost of the student films, have recently been reduced to Rs 25,000. The course would equip newcomers to enter the film and television industry as assistants or to make short films independently. People who have learned on the job in the media would benefit from learning the basics formally and getting their fundas clear. The course would help professionals who are already working in the industry in other capacities to become full-fledged directors.

The Indian film and television industry is looking for fresh voices. With the diminishing appeal of the formula masala film, there is a demand for out-of-the-box thinking, for directors who understand the art and craft of film-making. It’s a great time to enter the field.

FACULTY

Rajashree has been a film buff since she was a kid - she once stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for Sholay. She has been working in Bombay after studying direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Poona. She has assisted Mansoor Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A film she wrote and directed, The Rebel, was screened at many film festivals, and won the National Award and the Golden Ten Award. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Film Writers Association. Her critically acclaimed first book, Trust Me, is a lighthearted romantic comedy set in the Bombay film industry. According to figures given by The Times of India and The Sunday Telegraph, Trust Me is the biggest-selling Indian chick lit novel. She is represented by Isabel Atherton, the Director of Creative Authors, a literary agency based in the United Kingdom.  http://rajashree.in

While Rajashree would be the main person conducting the course, there would also be guest lectures by professionals from the film industry.

COMMENTS ABOUT RAJASHREE’S COURSES BY EX-STUDENTS:

“I have had an amazing experience with Rajashree’s script-writing and film-making workshops. The workshops were structured very well and had a good effective blend of relevant theory, creative discussions on assignments, analysis of classics and hands-on experience in writing a script and making a short film. The workshops were conducted very diligently in a focused manner encouraging participation from all students, both in the classroom and webcast versions. I found them to be especially useful for working persons as the structure and organization of the workshop accommodated these aspects very well.”         - Rajesh V.

More comments can be read here.

VENUE

The classes will be held in an air-conditioned classroom in Andheri (West).  Since the venue is on S.V. Road, opposite the railway station, it is very easy to reach.

ONLINE CLASSES FOR STUDENTS WHO DON’T LIVE IN BOMBAY

It is possible for students who live out of town to attend the theory classes and scriptwriting practicals online via webconferencing and come to Bombay for the camera and editing practicals which would be held on consecutive days for their convenience, rather than on Sundays. The online students would have to come to Bombay twice:

1. For three days, in August, for their practicals.

2. For a week in September to make their final short film.

For further information, please call 97694 49556 or email rajashree.in@gmail.com

CERTIFICATES

The students would be given certificates at the successful completion of the course.

DURATION

Full-day classes on 11 Sundays and 3 Saturdays over three months, beginning in July 2010.

FEES

The fees are Rs 25,000. They are non-refundable.

The fees can be paid in two ways:

1.           It is preferable if the student pays the full amount at the time of registration.

2.           It is also possible for the student to pay in monthly installments, in the form of post-dated cheques that would be submitted at the time of registration. A one-time additional fee of Rs 4,000 would be charged for students who prefer to pay in installments.

Please contact 9769449556 or rajashree.in@gmail.com for more information.

COURSE CONTENT

While the course is practical-oriented, the theory portion would help the students develop a sound understanding of the basics of story-telling and film-making. More than 50% of the time would be devoted to hands-on film-making, so that the students learn how to transform their ideas into films.

PRACTICALS

A) PRACTICALS: SCRIPTWRITING

The students would write at home and then read out their work in interactive sessions in which they receive feedback as well as suggestions.

1. Writing concepts for 2 films and a brief character sketch of 1 character every week.

2. One-page character sketches of a fictional character & a real person the student knows personally

3. A detailed character sketch of one person who can be the protagonist of a film

4. Scenes written in the international format

B) PRACTICALS: SCREEN GRAMMAR

1. The students will do practicals with a camera to understand:

Image Size

Camera Angles

Camera Movements

Rule of Thirds & the Golden Points

Lenses

Depth of Field

Selective Focus

2. The students will do practicals with a camera to learn:

How to use the Imaginary Line

Maintain Continuity of Time and Space

C) PRACTICALS: ASSISTANT DIRECTION

1. The students will learn the skills required to be an assistant director: giving the clap, maintaining a continuity sheet, etc.

D) ASSIGNMENTS

The students would be required to work on the following exercises that would strengthen their understanding of the concepts being taught.

1. Visiting a place for an hour, taking notes and writing an actuality trip report in audiovisual terms

2. A character sketch of one of the major characters of Sholay & an analysis of how the character has been established in the film

3. Scene-by-scene analysis of a feature film the student likes

4. Identifying the various elements of visual composition and sound design in 6 to 10 consecutive shots of a scene and analyzing the effect of each of these elements

5. Analysing the elements of film-making used in a film the student likes.

E) WORKSHOP ON THE STEP-OUTLINE OF A SHORT FILM:

The students would write concepts for short films and bring them to class. Selecting one of these concepts, the teacher and students would write a brief step outline (one-line script) for a short film in class.

F) PROJECT 1: CONTINUITY EXERCISE

1. Writing a short scene that can be filmed in 3 shots.

2. Doing the shot-breakdown for the scene

3. Drawing a floor plan

4. Story-boarding the shots

5. Shooting the simple 3-shot scene.

6. Editing the scene.

G) FINAL PROJECT: MAKING A SHORT FILM

i) PRE-PRODUCTION OF THE SHORT FILM:

1. The basic idea

2. The synopsis

3. What is the premise of the film? What is the theme? What are the socio-political and ethical ideas being conveyed?

4. Character sketches of the main characters, keeping their physiology, sociology and psychology in mind. The back story, i.e., what has happened in the life of the character before the film begins? How does the character change and grow through the film.

5. Research for the film.

6. The Step-Outline of the film, in which every scene is described in a paragraph.

7. Screenplay with dialogue for the short film

8.Production Breakdown

9.Shot Breakdown of the film

10. Location-hunting and getting permissions

11. Floor-planning and story boarding

12. Casting

13. Organising the props, costumes and other production requirements.

ii) PRODUCTION OF THE SHORT FILM:

14. Shooting

iii) POST-PRODUCTION OF THE SHORT FILM:

15.Digitisation

16.Logging

17.Editing

18. Working on the sound

19. Adding Credit Titles

20. Getting the film on tape and copies on VCD and DVD.

iv) SCREENING:

21. Screening the film

Please Note: The technicians and equipment required for the practicals and projects would be provided to the students. The students can arrange for more production requirements at their own cost.

THEORY

THE PROCESS OF MAKING A FILM

Film-making: As a director, it is necessary to understand the process of making a film: pre-production, production and post-production. A brief overview of how films are made would be given to the students.

SCRIPTWRITING

Storytelling: The audience is looking for a good story told well. Fiction films are basically about telling stories through visuals and sounds. What are the elements of a good story? Where do stories come from? Life as a source - memory, imagination, experience - yours & others. The nature and role of intuition. Universalising the personal experience. Importance of research. Adaptation from literary works. The difference between actually being inspired and stealing ideas.

Audiovisual Writing: Films are an audiovisual medium so a script is basically a description of the visuals and sounds that will be seen and heard in the film. What are the elements of visual story telling? The discipline of writing a screenplay. The outer manifestation of inner feelings which Satyajit Ray talks about.

The Format: The format for writing the Synopsis, Step-outline, Screenplay and Script for a film.

The Elements of Scriptwriting: Action, Character, Setting, Theme, Structure.

Characterisation: How to create 3 dimensional characters. How to establish characters on screen. The Protagonist and the Antagonist. Dramatic Need of the protagonist & its relation to the plot. The way the character grows and changes during the film. Establishing characters on screen. Show, do not tell.

Structuring: Understanding the way screenplays of films are structured and learning how to use these elements in your own work: The 3-act structure. Set-Up, Confrontation, Crisis, Climax, Resolution. Plot, Sub-plot, weaving them together. The structure of commercial Hindi films.

Learning from tradition: The art of dramatic writing has been written about for thousands of years. We would talk about the Natyashastra by Bharata, Nav Rasas & their relationship with Indian films.

The Importance of Conflict: Drama comes from conflict. We would analyse the types of conflict: Static Conflict, Jumping Conflict, Rising Conflict, Foreshadowing Conflict. How mystery, surprise and suspense are used.

What does the film say: Films reflect the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the times when the film was made and the Weltenschaung, the worldview of the film-maker. We would discuss the Premise, Theme, Ideology, Ethical & Socio-Political Ideas conveyed through films.

SCREEN GRAMMAR & ELEMENTS OF FILM-MAKING

An introduction to screen grammar: What is a shot? The editing transitions that can be used to join two shots: Cut, Dissolve, Fade, Wipe, Bleach. The various elements of shot-taking: Image Size, Camera Angles, Camera Movements, Lighting, Camera Speed, Stocks, Graphics, Colour. The Rule of Thirds & the Golden Points. Lenses. Depth of Field and Selective Focus.

Shot Breakdown: The students would learn the format for writing the shot breakdown. We would analyse the shot breakdown of scenes from various films.

Continuity and the Imaginary Line: The 180 Degree Axis. How to maintain continuity of space and time. Match Cut and Jump Cut.

Ways of Shooting: Blocking. Master-close and triple-take method. Cut in and cut away.

The Principles of Editing: They say that a film is made on two tables - the writing table and the editing table.

Sound Design: Speech, Effect sound, Music, Silence. Perspective & Volume of the different sounds on the track.

Preparing for a shoot: Script Breakdown. Planning Shooting Order.

Creating Requisition Lists. Floor Planning & Story-Boarding

Assisting in Direction

Music: Songs & their Picturisation. Background Music

Production Design: Art Design. Costumes

Production, Budgeting & Marketing

Directing Actors

Television: Genres & Techniques

FILM HISTORY & ANALYSING FILMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE ELEMENTS OF FILM-MAKING HAVE BEEN USED

Types of films

Feature films -fiction

Short films

Documentary films

Ad Films

History of World Cinema: Silent Era

Lumiere

Griffith

Chaplin

Eisenstien

German Expressionistic Cinema

History of World Cinema: Talkies

American 30s films: Analytic Dramatic Style, Studio System, Genres

Italian Neo-Realism

French New Wave

Hollywood 70s

World Art Cinema

Contemporary World Cinema

Iranian Films

History of Indian Cinema & Analysis of Its Relationship with Politics:

Save Dada

Dadasaheb Phalke

Studio Period: Sant Tukaram, Ashok Kumar

Post-Independence films: Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar

60s films: Guide, the rise of Rajesh Khanna

70s: Sholay

80s, 90s, Contemporary

Art Cinema: Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak

The Parallel Film Movement

Analysis of the structure of Commercial Hindi Cinema.

Analysis of the structure of Multiplex Hindi Cinema.

Rajashree conducts direction and scriptwriting workshops and courses. She will be conducting a Film & TV Direction Course in Mumbai which is scheduled to begin in June 2010.

Here are some comments about her courses by her ex-students:

“The next best thing to a course at FTII.”         - Bharati Shankar Hemmady

“I have had an amazing experience with Rajashree’s script-writing and film-making workshops. The workshops were structured very well and had a good effective blend of relevant theory, creative discussions on assignments, analysis of classics and hands-on experience in writing a script and making a short film. The workshops were conducted very diligently in a focused manner encouraging participation from all students, both in the classroom and webcast versions. I found them to be especially useful for working persons as the structure and organization of the workshop accommodated these aspects very well.”         - Rajesh V.

“I had read quite a few books by Syd Field and Robert McKee but most of them had been written keeping in mind Hollywood  movies. After attending Rajashree’s workshop I got to know that Bollywood is a different ball game altogether and what works in Hollywood might not necessarily work in Bollywood, or to make it work you need to add those extra spices (masala) to make it palatable for Indian Audience. If you need to know what works in Bollywood and Tellywood (I mean television) per se, the Bollywood Structure, the Rasas etc., then you must attend her workshop.”         - Brijesh Bolar

“To me, Rajashree is like the energy drink Red Bull! She motivates you to spring into action and pushes you to deliver beyond your limits. Without her encouragement, I dont think I would have been able to transform my idea into a screenplay …..And with her encouragement came the right dose of constructive criticism……Also it was a great help to share and brainstorm ideas in the presence of other students and see where your idea stands….It is a relief to see so many people sailing in the same boat as you are and trying to get better and getting there.I was actually groping in the dark when Rajashree came as a ray of hope….”         - Priya Saraiya

“This programme gave me the mechanics of writing for features, along with the confidence. But what Rajashree really did was crack the whip, pushing us constantly to keep writing and keep exploring. The lively discussions were the best part of this programme.”         - Satish Desa

” Well, actually I am a little afraid of Rajashree. She is a very good listener and so soft-hearted that you would love to learn from her, yet she is so tough about the assignments she gives that you are left with no option but to write… What I realised in the workshop is that you can’t open a door by pushing a wall. Rajashree will not only let you open your thoughts but also direct them in a proper way so that you push the door and not the wall.”         - Amit Kumar Shukla

Apun Ko Dekhne Ka Hai

Script & Direction: Rajashree
10 mins/ DVCam/ Colour/ Hindi/ EST

Apun Ko Dekhne Ka Hai looks at the symbol of India’s economic boom, the mall, through the eyes of a street kid. Raghu, who cleans cars in the parking lot of a big mall, longs to take a look at ‘the other side’ - the world inside the mall - but the guards don’t allow poor children to enter. One day, a bunch of rich kids help him slip in. He has a great time with them, until one of them finds a toy missing and starts suspecting him…

Here are some excerpts from write-ups about Trust Me:

‘Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist Trust Me by Rajashree’
Femina

‘A weekend must-read for every chick-lit lover. Go get it!’
Cosmo

‘In this lighthearted debut, Rajashree balances comic and sad moods perfectly. A fun read!’
Marie Claire

‘Romance peppered with Bollywoodian sequences of girl crashing into boy, roadside serenades, melodrama et al. Entertainingly breezy. Curl up in your bed and enjoy this chick-lit’
Sunday Tribune

‘Rajashree’s novel, Trust Me is a fun-filled love story set in Bollywood’
The Times of India

‘In this refreshing take on romance with the film industry as a backdrop, the insider details stand out for their authenticity’
The Week

‘Over the years books have become the inspiration of many a film. Now debutante writer Rajashree has done the opposite. She has written a novel in the form of a film narrative – cut to cut with razor sharp editing…’
The Hindu

‘A mad Bollywood caper about amour lost and found’
MSN India

‘A funny take on errant men and a woman who has learnt her lesson the hard way, Trust Me… is about finding love, dealing with lust and knowing the difference’
India Today

‘Rajashree is making magic…’
DNA

‘Rajashree’s novel is just like a close friend talking about her love life. I’ve not been an avid reader but of all I have read, this is one of the rare novels that has actually made me compromise on my sleep just to know what happens next’
Dash

‘A light, easy and funny read… While creating a little filmy world in itself, Trust Me, set in contemporary urban India, may just begin another trend of writing’
Platform

‘Rajashree… writes warmly and funnily’
The Telegraph

‘With the likes of filmmakers Gulzar and Kundan Shah and authors Kiran Nagarkar and Chetan Bhagat strongly recommending Trust Me, Rajashree seems to have struck the “write” note in her very first attempt at writing fiction…’
Deccan Herald

‘The latest sensational bestseller from the house of Rupa, Trust Me, tries to uncover the face of the real Mumbai film industry – the dark side behind the glitz and glamour of “the city that never sleeps”, a place marred by politics, black money and the casting couch’
Saturday Times

‘Funny and realistic’
Savvy

‘White shoes, black money, the casting couch and no-holds-barred language dot the 242-page effort. Rajashree’s… writing relies more on dialogue than descriptive or narrative pieces, but her imagery is vivid.’
Festival Daily

‘Designed as a satirical take on Bollywood, Trust Me is replete with anecdotes and characters, like Jumbo, that one may come across only in the world of Hindi cinema. Even the romance between Parvati and Rahul seems to emerge from the formula Bollywood film…’
Hindustan Times

‘A comic caper’
Indian Express

‘Trust Me… is a warm, funny story of love, heartbreak and friendship’
4th D Woman

‘Chick-lit and film tribute in one’
Sunday Mid-Day

‘Trust Me… is for anyone and everyone who likes reading’
Delhi Mid-Day

UNPUTDOWNABLE! 

As the last strains of ‘Auld lang syne’ fade away, tuck away your dancing shoes and curl up on the couch with this mixed basket of written words. They just happen to be put together by our book club and are the hottest reads of 2007:

Trust Me by Rajashree

Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist ‘Trust Me’ By  Rajashree. This is Parvati’s story and her journey through the mad, mad world of Bollywood. While working in an ad film company, Parvati falls in love with Karan - her ‘Mr Right’ - only to find out that he could not be more wrong. Her boss, the fatherly Mr Bose, is the one dependable man in her life - till he displays a not-so-fatherly side. Typically she now has a new anthem: “all men are creeps”. Singed by the experiences, she leaves her job to join a filmmaker who believes in white shoes, black money and the casting couch. Here she meets Rahul, an actor who claims to have fallen in love with her. But now a smarter Parvati will not take anyone’s word so easily. Therein begins her journey of  self-discovery…  

What makes you feel beautiful?

The ideal of beauty is much disputed. Rouge debates whether beauty is inborn or cosmetic

WE STEER clear from scholarly researches, analyses by psychologists and popular Mars and Venetian theories. Instead, we invite Rouge women to share their idea of beauty. Here are the first-person, unedited quotes from our cover girls. They tell us the secret to their dazzling looks and successful careers.

RAJASHREE, Writer

Rajashree’s novel “Trust Me!” is a funfilled love story set in Bollywood. The FTII alumna looks like the typical writer— her quiet eyes complement the free spirited Bohemian streak. She loves the serene outdoors and is an ardent fan of FM radio. Her earthiness and earnestness are endearing as she confesses how much she likes dressing up for the opposite sex.

What makes her feel beautiful?

“I feel happy and look beautiful when I do pranayam and meditate. Exercise and healthy food and lots of compliments make me feel beautiful. Occasionally, I do feel the need to lose a couple of kilos but it is more important to keep fit than lose weight. People tell me that my smile is my best asset and I do agree that a smile can tell you a lot about a person. Satyajit Ray said that ‘Cinema is the outer manifestation of inner reality’ and I liken that to beauty.”

NO GUTS, NO GLORY

       Writer par excellence, Rajashree is a fresh new addition to Indian English literature. Her debut novel, Trust Me, is the latest bestseller from Rupa. It is selling like hot cakes. Set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry, Trust Me is a romantic comedy. It is a warm, funny story about love, heart-break and friendship.
       A versatile lady, Rajashree has been a Hindi film buff since she was a kid — she once stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for Sholay. She has been working in Mumbai after studying direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. A film she wrote and directed, The Rebel, won a National Award and was screened at many film festivals.
       It also won the Golden Ten Award at the SMTV International Film Festival in January 2007. Another film called The Connection which deals with communal violence, is also from her cradle. In a recent candid interview, she shares her thoughts. Excerpts:

       What messages do you want to convey through ‘Trust Me’?
       ‘Trust Me’ is basically meant to be enjoyed – I don’t want people to get very serious and thoughtful after reading it. Though it does talk about some serious issues, it deals with them in a lighthearted way.
        The novel revolves around a young woman who’s had such a bad experience with men, that she’s started taking this joke rather literally: ‘What does “trust me” mean in Polish?’ ‘F. U.’
       It’s a story of this girl’s journey from bitterness to trust, a story of emotional healing. About trust, I feel that when in doubt, it’s important to ‘trust smart’. Rather than thinking, ‘Can I trust this person?’ it might be better to think, ‘Can I trust this person to do this?’ When we don’t make value judgments and blanket statements, we are more likely to find the right answers.

       Your book also deals with the casting couch – what are your personal views about it?
       A lot of people in the Hindi film industry give you this line when you ask them about the casting couch: ‘It’s the newcomer’s choice. Nobody forces anybody into anything.’
       As if that makes everything OK! The casting couch is sexual harassment at the workplace, plain and simple. How is it different from the manager saying to a would-be-secretary or a contractor to a construction worker, ‘I’ll give you this job if you sleep with me’?  It’s legally termed as ‘quid pro quo sexual harassment’. In the landmark Vishakha judgement of August 1997, the Supreme Court of India recognized sexual harassment at the workplace as not only personal injury to the affected woman, but also a violation of fundamental rights.

       What should be done to check the harassment of women, especially aspiring young girls in the film industry?
       Look, the casting couch does exist, but it’s not as though everybody has to face it. Most of the people I know in the industry don’t use it. But I feel that it’s important for industrywalas to come forward and work proactively against it, to not have a ‘chalta hai’ attitude. I attended a screenwriter’s conference in which a lot of writers spoke against ‘DVD scriptwriting’ – being ‘inspired’ by Hollywood films. It would be great if established people in the industry – producers, directors, actors, technicians – who aren’t in favour of the casting couch created a movement against it.
       At the individual level, I’d advice a newcomer – could be either, a guy or a girl – who wants to fight against the casting couch to take recourse to the law. It’s crucial that the media supports people who raise their voices against sexual harassment.

       How do you look at the present trend of Bollywood?
       As a film-maker, I think it’s a great time to be in the Hindi film industry. So many offbeat films are being made – and succeeding. Look at ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ and ‘Bheja Fry’. Even the big-budget mainstream films – it’s great, the way Rajkumar Hirani has reinvented Gandhism and made it easy to relate to. I love Gandhiji – he’s one person I respect from the bottom of my heart – and I’m truly grateful to Hirani for keeping his thoughts alive.
       Oh yes, a Gandhigiri twist to the sexual harassment issue would be to send ‘Get Well Soon’ cards to a lecherous producer and organizing a dharna outside his or her house…

       Please share some tips for aspiring actors hoping to get a break in Bollywood.
       There are no sure-shot paths to making it in tinsel town, but if a teenager with stars in his/her eyes and no contacts in the industry were to ask me for advice, I’d probably tell them to learn the craft of acting. (Or become a beauty queen!) Join a theatre group, study at the National School of Drama if you can get admission. The Film and Television Institute of India, where I’ve studied film direction, has re-started the acting course. This course had produced stalwarts like Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Shatrughan Sinha in the 70’s.
       Once you hit Bombay, get your portfolio done by the best photographer you can afford, make the rounds of producers’ and directors’ offices. And persevere, persevere, persevere. There’s one word that sums up trying to get a break in Hindi films – ‘struggle’. But then, no guts, no glory.
      
       Being a woman, what do you think needs to be done for empowerment of women across the country?
       Lots! I feel very disturbed by female foeticide. I think it’s an indicator of the position of women in Indian society. It shows that patriarchy is not benevolent and that the system is not working. It’s a question of women’s rights as well as duties. If women supported their parents economically in their old age, people might discriminate less against daughters.

       Talking of literature, where does Indian English Literature stand today in the world map?
       Indian English authors are being read all over the world today. Including India. Just look at the number of Indian English titles in the bookshops. The fact there is a readership encourages new authors - so many new books are being written!

       You seem to be superbly crazy about Hindi films. Do other subjects appeal to you for writing?
       ‘Superbly crazy?’ That makes me feel like a Shahrukh Khan fan who sends him letters written in blood!
       I have written and directed a film called ‘The Rebel’, which won the National Award and the Golden Ten Award. This is about a sixteen-year-old boy who’s very angry with his mother because she’s remarried and he doesn’t feel part of the new family she’s formed. Another film called ‘The Connection’ deals with communal violence in an intimate setting. What I love the most about this film that it ends with a Sufi-style song, ‘He Ram’ sung like an azaan.

       Do you have any plan to venture out into filmmaking?
       I am working on a script for a feature film and am looking for a producer. Producerji, producerji, whereforth art thou, producerji?

       - Rajkumar Sushan Singh

Excerpt from Chapter 14
      
       I was in bed with Rahul when the phone rang.
       He picked up the phone and said hello in the deep baritone voice that was meant to impress producers into furnishing dotted lines and signing amounts.
       ‘It’s for you,’ he said.
       I took a deep breath and said, ‘Hello?’
       ‘Paro?’ Saira said. ‘I’m at Whacko’s place, tell me quick why I need to break up with him, I need a booster dose of antibodies, quick, before he comes back from the loo.’
       ‘I… Right. One, he’s got a violent temper. Two, he does drugs. Three, he says he loves you but he keeps on meeting his ex-girlfriend. Four… four, ya, four, you can’t find someone nice till you dump him. Five, he’s not…’
       ‘Whacko’s back. Bye!’
       ‘Bye-bye, best of luck!’ I put the receiver down and turned around – to see Rahul looking at me, astounded.
      
      

Excerpt from Chapter 11
      
      
       Mmm. It was the best smell in the whole wide world. Paint and turpentine. I breathed in deep, right down to my stomach. I was just supposed to be supervising the art direction guys, but when they’d gone off for lunch, I hadn’t been able to resist picking up a brush. The stage backdrop was so big, I figured that it didn’t hurt any if I painted a bit. And I was happy like a child, doing what I loved more than anything else – painting.
       I added two broad strokes of red, then a squiggle of blue, smudged gently. My hair came loose as I bent down to dip my brush in the turpentine.
       ‘Ofoh!’ I said, without turning around. ‘Where did you come from?’
       Rahul tied my hair into a knot and stuck the pin back in.
       ‘I wanted to check how work on the stage was coming along,’ he said unconvincingly. Then, ‘I thought you might be feeling lonely – all alone on this big set in the middle of nowhere.’
       ‘I was enjoying my solitude,’ I said, but smiled at him from the corner of my eyes.
       I added a yellow line next to the blue and smudged it with my fingers.
       ‘What do you think of it?’ I said, stepping back.
       ‘It looks, well, kind of… like a cat.’
       I’d been painting a depiction of Shiva and Shakti.
       ‘You could have said something worse, I suppose. Though I can’t think of much,’ I said.
       ‘Oh, it’s not so bad, I like cats,’ he said.
       ‘I prefer dogs.’
       ‘I know what you mean. Dogs are loving, trusting creatures. You know what the trouble with cats is? If a cat sits on a hot stove once, she won’t sit on a hot stove again. But the problem is, she won’t sit on a cold stove, either.’
       ‘Tom Sawyer said that,’ I said accusingly.
       ‘I wasn’t trying to steal his quote. And it’s Mark Twain, not Tom Sawyer.’
       ‘Ya, ya, same thing. Anyway, why do we have to talk, and analyse, and discuss so much?’ I asked, adding some blue to the design. ‘Can’t you think of anything better to do?’
       He took the paintbrush out of my hand, kept it in the mug of turpentine, and kissed me soundly on the lips.
        ‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ I said, feeling shy but trying not to show it. I rubbed the paint-mark on my cheek. He kissed the mark. I tried not to look at him, but when I did, I couldn’t help smiling. He kissed my lips again, softly.
       I wouldn’t have minded if that kiss had gone on forever, but the sound of footsteps made us disentangle quickly.
       ‘I was thinking, Madam is all alone, it’s not good for me to be taking rest,’ the painter, who’d come back early from his lunch, said sweetly.
       ‘That was really very nice of you,’ Rahul said, hamming a hearty smile and clapping him on the back.
       I was feeling so shy, that I started acting brash. Rahul was happy, stretching, singing, ‘helping’ me with the painting (he couldn’t paint for nuts), kissing me quickly when the art direction guy’s back was turned.
      
       Rahul’s jeep wouldn’t start. As usual. But neither of us minded in the least. We walked halfway to the Film City gate, holding hands, before we saw a bus. It appeared on the horizon, and as it inched towards us, it started to rain.
       The wizened old conductor stared at us disapprovingly when we clambered in, dripping water and giggling like mad. We sat as far from him as we could and held hands.
       I had never seen Bombay looking so beautiful before. Not just the lush green of Film City, even the crowded roads looked charming. Maybe it was because of the rain.
       ‘Close your eyes,’ Rahul told me.
       ‘But what about the conductor?’ I said, shocked.
       ‘Smell the rain, dumbo.’
       I closed my eyes and I could smell the smell-scape – Rahul’s after-shave, the gajras at the stoplight, bhuttas being roasted, and below it all, the musky scent of rain meeting parched earth.
       ‘It’s been discovered that the typical “first rain” scent is caused by the spores of some bacteria being released into the air,’ I informed him, but my eyes were laughing.
       He gave me a mock-scowl and put an arm around me, not drawing away even when the conductor passed by, coughing disapprovingly.
       ‘In a Hindi film, this would have been a song,’ I giggled.
       And he turned to me and started singing, ‘Pyar hua ikraar hua hai…’
       I told myself that it is was the most predictable song to sing under the circumstances, but my heart melted and flowed down, right out of my toes. ‘Parvatitai,’ I told myself, ‘if you don’t watch out, you’re going to fall in love with this guy.’
      
       ‘I’m feeling so happy and so scared because I’m feeling so happy,’ I whispered into the phone. It was two o’clock in the night, definitely not the most decent of times to be chatting on the phone, but Saira came back late from work so this was the only time I could catch her.
       ‘What are you getting so hyper about, sweetheart?’ Saira said soothingly.
       ‘He’s a Hindi film actor for God’s sake!’ I groaned.
       ‘He’s dishy,’ she commented.
       ‘Karan was dishy too. I thought that I’d learnt my lesson from that whole episode. But no. Here I go again. Aa bael mujhe maar.’
       ‘Maybe it’s real love,’ she said doubtfully.
       ‘I don’t know about real love, but it definitely is real lust,’ I laughed.
       ‘That’s great,’ she said. ‘What’s stopping you, then?’
       I hesitated. Somehow, I didn’t want to tell Saira.
       ‘What’s the matter, sweetheart?’ she said.
       ‘I feel very attracted to Rahul, but even now, my body seems to belong to Karan. In a funny kind of way, I feel like I’m being unfaithful to Karan by thinking of getting involved with Rahul. Maybe unfaithful not to him, he never bothered to be faithful to me even when we were together. Maybe, unfaithful to my love for him…’
       ‘That’s all the more reason why you should get involved with Rahul. It’ll help you break your attachment to Karan.’
       ‘I don’t know,’ I said, shivering as the windows opened with a bang and the wind blew a spray of drizzle on me. I closed the windows quickly, stealing a look at the landlady’s bedroom door. I was breaking one of her rules – traipsing around the living room in a nighty – and if she found out, there’d be hell to pay.
       ‘Why don’t you just have an affair with Rahul?’ Saira suggested. ‘Just have some fun, that’s all.’
       ‘With Karan…’
       ‘See, with Karan, you were emotionally involved, that’s why it hurt you so much that he just wanted to fuck you. Because you wanted different things from the relationship, right?’
       ‘Uh-huh.’
       ‘Look, that’s what I feel. If you go and talk to Kavita, she’ll tell you that all men are bastards, you’re better off by yourself. You know what a bloody pessimist she is,’ she said.
       Saira had recently gone and made up with her Whacko. Even I hadn’t been too happy about it. But my disapproval was nothing compared to Kavita’s. She’d laid an egg when Saira had forgiven Whacko for slapping her because he’d been tripping on speed and hadn’t realised what he was doing.
       ‘Kavita’s so bloody self-righteous! I don’t know how – what do they say – how she always knows what’s good for everybody else,’ Saira complained. ‘I don’t even know what’s good for me.’
       ‘The most irritating thing is that she’s usually right,’ I said.
       ‘Ya, I know,’ Saira said moodily. ‘Maybe you should ask her, then…’
       ‘I’ll ask her later, but right now, I’m asking you,’ I said. ‘What do you think?’
       ‘I would advise you to get on with your life,’ Saira said. ‘You used to be so bubbly when you first came to Bombay. But after everything happened… Means, you’ve become so serious and bitter nowadays. Nothing like a bit of romance to cheer you up, get things into perspective. But that’s just my opinion. You have to make your own decision based on what you want.’
       ‘But how am I going to find out what I want unless I talk to you?’
       ‘Ya, you’re right,’ Saira laughed.
       ‘Actually I don’t think that I’m in love with Rahul either,’ I said, going on, stronger now. ‘I mean, of course I’m very attracted to him, and he’s really fun to be with, that’s all.’
       ‘That’s cool, then,’ Saira said. ‘Enjoy.’
       ‘Ya, like MTV. Enjoy.’
      
      
      

Excerpt from Chapter 8
      
      
       Mrignayani ran down the dimly lit street, hotly pursued by four burly men. She stumbled over a stone and fell. The men surrounded her, laughing loudly, as she clutched her dupatta to her heaving bosom.
       ‘Ha, ha, ha,’ the villain leered, revealing a mouthful of golden teeth. ‘Which one of your two-two lovers has drunk so much of his mother’s milk that he can dare to save you from the biggest…’
       The men whirled around as Rahul Kapoor scaled over a fence on a white horse and – all the lights on the set went off.
       ‘What the fuck is going on?’ Mrignayani demanded shrilly. ‘This is the third time the generator has conked out tonight. What kind of shooting is this? Where’s the production manager?’
       I sighed and closed the continuity book. It would take half an hour for them to repair the generator. If we were lucky.
       ‘Tea break,’ Jumbo announced.
       The last two times the lights had gone off, I’d been bumped into by four assorted men, so I retreated into a nearby patch of trees. Real trees, that’d had nothing to do with the art direction department. I found a log to sit on and flexed my feet, feeling glad for the rest. The way things were going, the shooting seemed set to go on till morning.
       All the other assistant directors cribbed about the night shoots, but I preferred them. I said that it was because we didn’t have to stand in the sun all day long. But the real reason was that the work distracted me from the temptation of calling up Karan.
       It was two weeks since I had seen him with Deepti and I hadn’t called him since then. What was the badge that Saira’s boyfriend had got from Narcotics Anonymous after he had stopped using drugs for two weeks? ‘Clean and Serene for 14 Days’. I hadn’t been serene, but yes, I had been able to keep myself from making blank calls to Karan for the last fourteen nights. Even if he called me up now and called me over, I wouldn’t go. I hoped that I wouldn’t go. But what if he really…
       Rahul Kapoor took my hand in his and sat down by my side.
       ‘What…’ I jerked my hand away but he held on.
       ‘Hey, hey, relax. I’m just reading your hand.’ He shone a torch on my palm and looked at it contemplatively. ‘Good strong life line,’ he told me. ‘You’ll live to be ninety-seven.’
       It was so Hindi-filmi romantic, I couldn’t help smiling. Midnight, the two of us sitting on a log. Beneath mango trees that rustled in the breeze. And him reading my hand. With a torch!
       As it is, Rahul Kapoor’s ideas about wooing definitely were inspired by Hindi films. He’d sing love songs to me. And dance to them. He’d get me boxes of candy and flowers. With my sweet tooth, I didn’t mind the chocolates, but I did admonish him when he plucked flowers from the set and presented them to me – it took us a lot of effort to tend to those plants.
       ‘You’ll have two boys and… one girl. Yes.’
       Did that include the baby I hadn’t had?
       ‘What about work?’ I said, trying to distract myself.
       ‘Your career will really take off when you’re about twenty-seven,’ he informed me. ‘But you won’t be making a great deal of money till you’re… thirty-one.’
       I looked at him compassionately. He was trying his best to charm me, but his style was hampered a little by the fact that he was wearing a bright pink chiffon shirt with purple silk pants. Sometimes I felt so old, I wished for his sake that he were trying these lines on someone else.
       ‘And when will I get married?’ I asked him tiredly.
       ‘In about… uh, how old are you?’
       ‘Twenty-two,’ I said. I wasn’t really lying – I was just two months away from my twenty-second birthday.
       ‘I’m twenty,’ he said brightly. ‘Doesn’t matter, I don’t care about such things. How do they make a difference, huh? Na umraki seema ho, na janam ka ho bandhan… So you will get married when you are…’ He bent my hand and pressed the skin so that the lines became more prominent. ‘When you are twenty-six years and seven months old.’
       ‘How many days?’ I asked dryly.
       ‘Seven days. Hmm now, let’s see, nice long fingers. You’re an artist.’
       ‘Wow!’
       ‘Strong will power,’ he said, pressing my thumb back. ‘But a bit stubborn. OK, now curl your hand into a tight fist. Right, ya, tighter. Now, relax.’
       He tried to open my fist. I resisted.
       ‘Hey, I said relax.’
       I shrugged and slowly let him open my hand till his palm was lying flat on mine.
       ‘You didn’t let me open your hand in the beginning, and even when you did, you opened it very slowly – that shows that you don’t trust easily,’ he said. ‘You’re too closed as a person. Open up, you’ll enjoy life more.’
       I took my hand back from him and lit a cigarette.
       ‘Do you know what “trust me” means in Polish?’ I asked.
       He shook his head.
       ‘What?’
       “‘Fuck you.’”
       He laughed. I smiled.
       ‘So, when a guy says “trust me”,’ I said to him, ‘a warning bell rings in my head.’
       He made a face. ‘Why are you so hard, so defensive?’
       ‘Have to be, living in Bombay, alone.’
       He was silent for a while, but only for a while.
       ‘But what about love? Don’t you believe in love?’
       ‘Men give love in order to get sex. Women give sex in order to get love.’ I’d read that somewhere, or maybe Saira had told me.
       ‘Baap re, you’re very unromantic.’ 
       ‘You know something, all those stupid, stupid fairy tales and love songs which we’ve been hearing right from the time when we were, like, toddlers – they are what fuck us up. Life’s not a bloody Mills and Boon romance. Not by far. Happily ever after never happens.’
       ‘It does, too. I’ve even got a white horse. I’ll take you on it and ride into the sunset….’
       ‘Bah!’ I said, taking the torch from his hand. I would have got up and walked off, but my feet were hurting too much. I propped up my continuity book between us and turned the torch to face it, so that we were lit by a more even, diffused light.
       ‘What’s your favourite fairy tale?’ I said, trying to change the subject.
       ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ he said. And grinned. ‘What about yours?’
       ‘Dhruv Tara. Do you know it?’
       He shook his head.
       ‘Do you know who Dhruv Tara is?’
       He shook his head again.
       I made a face and looked up at the sky.
       ‘Hey, it’s not so bad,’ he said.
       I pointed to the North Star.
       ‘Between those branches, there, that’s Dhruv Tara.’
       ‘Oh. I never knew,’ he said.
       ‘Ya, ya, angrez da puttar.’
       ‘So, what’s his story?’
       ‘Well, it’s a bit longish-types. You won’t get bored?’
       ‘Zyada bhav mat kha. Bol,’ he said. Then, more softly, ‘No, I won’t get bored.’
       ‘Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a king who had two wives,’ I began. ‘The one he liked, his aavadti, his favourite queen, stayed with him in the palace. And the naavadti – how does one say it – the one who was, yes, out of favour, she stayed in a hut in the forest, with her son, Dhruv. One day, when Dhruv was seven years old, he told his mother that he wanted to go to the palace and meet his father. She was reluctant, but he insisted, so she dressed him up in the best clothes he had, and sent him off.
       ‘Dhruv went to the palace and his father was very happy to see him. He made Dhruv sit on his lap and gave him sweets to eat. But when the king’s favourite queen and her children came along, she made Dhruv get off his father’s lap so that her children could sit there.
       ‘Dhruv went back home to his mother, crying bitterly. She told him that the only one who could get him his rightful place was Bhagwan Vishnu. So Dhruv went deep into the forest and meditated for many years. He didn’t sleep, didn’t eat, didn’t even drink any water. The gods were moved by this small child’s tapasya, and Bhagwan Vishnu appeared in front of Dhruv to ask him what he wanted. Dhruv said that he wanted a place from where nobody could ever move him. That’s how he became Dhruv Tara – the North Star.
       ‘Everything else moves – the earth moves, the sun moves, even the stars move, but Dhruv Tara remains constant, unchanging. Nobody can ever move him from his place.’
       ‘That’s cool,’ Rahul said, ‘but he must be getting lonely up there. Nobody to talk to, nobody to flirt with, nobody to love.’
       ‘Flirting! That’s all you can think of,’ I said, irritated, and got up.
             

Excerpt B from Chapter 7
      
       We had an early pack-up that day and I was enjoying the sunset as I walked to the Film City gate, swinging my bag, when I realised that Rahul was nonchalantly walking by my side. I looked at him, too exasperated to say anything.
       ‘My jeep broke down. Again.’
       Sure. The same way it wouldn’t start yesterday when he’d wanted to walk with me and had been coaxed into life after I’d asked him out.
       ‘Look, I’d said to you, very clearly, hadn’t I – just a one-off – don’t you understand?’ I said.
       “‘One-off”, of course I understand, not like the Rin ads.’ There was a pause as we walked together and then he said quietly, ‘But why? Why just a one-of-a-kind, why not a series, like the Rin ads?’
       I wondered how to reply, then decided to be straightforward. The last thing I wanted to do was to lead him on.
       ‘Look,’ I said, ‘to be truthful, my going out with you didn’t have much to do with you, as such. Means, I went out with you because I saw my ex-boyfriend with some girl. I could just as well have gone out with Manoj or Kapil or… or anybody.’
       We walked together in silence for a while. I hoped that he wasn’t feeling bad, but even more than that, I hoped that the score was clear.
       ‘By the way,’ I said, ‘can I have my jooda pin back?’
       He took it out of his pocket, twirled it a couple of times, making the bells tinkle, and then handed it to me.
       ‘I’d grown a bit fond of it,’ he said.
       I wanted to frown, but I couldn’t help smiling. The weather was much too pleasant. I stopped to tie my hair into a knot with my jooda pin. It felt nice to have my pin back.
       ‘Tell me something,’ he said abruptly. ‘Don’t you find me attractive?’
       ‘No,’ I said, but since I didn’t particularly want to do a hatchet job on his ego, I added, ‘Obviously you’re very good-looking and all, but you’re not my types.’
       ‘Types, means like…’
       ‘Means like… I go for dark guys and you’re fair.’ Karan was very dark, and I’d fallen for him at first sight.
       ‘No problem,’ Rahul said confidently. ‘Kryolan Pancake, Shade No. 626 E.’
       I smiled, and shook my head.
       ‘Aren’t you ever going to give up trying?’ I said.
       ‘Of course I will. Very soon. As soon as you say yes.’
       ‘Ooh, like that! You’re going to be interested only till I’m hard-to-get. As soon as you get me…’
       ‘I don’t want to get you, Paro,’ he said, suddenly turning serious. ‘I don’t know why, but my heart feels drawn…’
       ‘Save these dialogues for the screen.’
       ‘OK.’ He made a face, then switched back to being non-serious. ‘So tell me, what else is your type – what kind of guys do you go for?’
       What kind of guys did I go for? Oh yes, of course. Kavita’s patterns.
       ‘You know, I’ve got this pattern of falling for all the wrong kind of guys. And of having these really fucked-up kind of relationships,’ I said. ‘I mean, if you’re like, Prince Charming, I’m obviously not going to fall for you.’
       ‘So… What do I have to do, to qualify?’
       ‘Well, get married, for starters.’
       ‘My God!’ Pause. ‘Won’t having another girlfriend do?’
       ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m the old-fashioned types.’
      
             

Excerpt from Chapter 7
      
      
       ‘Where are you from?’ I said, since I had to say something. I had no idea what I could converse about with Rahul Kapoor, but we were sitting across a table in a posh, air-conditioned restaurant and after we’d placed our orders, I presumed that some kind of conversation was supposed to take place.
       ‘New Delhi,’ he said.
       Karan was also from Delhi. Cut. N.G. What was the point of going out with somebody else if I kept on thinking about Karan? And anyway, what was the big deal about being from Delhi? Lots of people were. Even Saira was from Delhi.
       ‘Are you related to the Kapoors?’ I ploughed on with the conversation. ‘To Raj Kapoor?’
       ‘No, no, not at all. None of my relatives belong to the Hindi film industry.’ Then he added sheepishly, ‘Actually my real surname is Bhanot. I changed it to Kapoor when I came to Bombay because there are so many Kapoors in the industry. It sounds more like hero material, no?’
       ‘I guess,’ I said wryly. ‘Did your father mind your changing your name?’
       ‘What does he not mind? He minds my coming to Bombay, he minds my not finishing my graduation, he minds my acting in Hindi films. Especially the Hindi films bit.’
       I nodded. If I had a son who left his studies to come to Bombay and act in Jumbo’s films, I would mind.
       ‘He’s stopped speaking to me since he saw Maut Ke Sikandar.’ Rahul sighed, shook his head and told me, ‘He teaches English literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University.’
       ‘Oh, that’s the place where there’s all this radical left stuff happening, na?’
       ‘Not so much nowadays. Things are changing everywhere. Papa’s a hardcore Marxist, though. Completely intellectual. We’re Punjabi, but he only watches films by Bengali neorealist directors. Bimal Roy’s his favourite.’
       ‘Oh, I love Bimal Roy’s films. Especially Bandini. Have you seen it?’
       ‘At least twenty times. We had a video cassette at home,’ Rahul said enthusiastically. ‘But his Do Bigha Zameen is a far better film, actually. It’s much more understated.’
       ‘Understated, hmm.’ I looked at him quizzically. ‘What are you doing here – in Jumbo’s films?’
       ‘Oh, I love commercial Hindi films. Really I do. From the bottom of my heart. Realistic art films are fine, but they leave you feeling depressed. There’s enough in most people’s lives that gets them down, why should a man go to a theatre and feel even more miserable?’
       ‘I think that I would feel quite miserable if I had to watch Jumbo’s film for three hours in a movie theatre,’ I said dryly. ‘I much prefer old Hindi films.’
       Karan liked Hollywood films, especially sci-fi and… Cut. N.G.
       ‘But there are thousands, no, lakhs of people out there who spend their hard-earned money to go and see Jumboji’s films,’ Rahul was saying enthusiastically. ‘A rickshaw-wala who earns forty rupees a day pays twenty rupees to sit in a theatre in the evening and watch Jumboji’s film. And he says paisa vasool at the end of it.’
       ‘But you’re not a rickshaw-wala. Don’t your sensibilities get offended by the inane dialogues and loud costumes?’ I said. ‘You usually wear a white shirt and blue jeans when you come on the set. I’m sure you don’t like the costumes you have to wear.’
       ‘Oh, you’ve noticed my clothes,’ he said, quite pleased.
       ‘No, no, it’s just that I’ve been taking care of costumes and continuity, so I notice people’s clothes more,’ I said quickly, then regretted it. It sounded too defensive.
       ‘I don’t dislike the costumes, actually. They’re dramatic, larger than life. Everything about Hindi films is larger than life. That’s the style, the way the narrative structure works.’
       “‘Narrative structure” and all! Does your father say that?’
       ‘What does my father have to do with this?’ he said, frowning.
       He looked very intense, and I suddenly realised that he was attractive. I mean, I’d always known that he was handsome, but it’d had nothing to do with me. Like the verandah of Mehboob Khan’s house on the set, or the façade of the church, his looks gave production value to the film.
       ‘No, I just thought, since he teaches English Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University and all…’ I said, my hands toying with the red rose on our table.
       ‘I’m not quoting his ideas,’ he said huffily. Then relaxed. ‘But you’re right, I must have picked up some of this jargon from Papa.’
       ‘Which subject were you studying in college?’ I said, plucking a petal from the rose and nibbling it. ‘You mentioned that you didn’t finish your graduation…’
       ‘Are you very hungry?’ he said, disconcerted.
       ‘What? Oh, no. Rose petals are supposed to be very good for the eyes,’ I said, offering him a petal. He took it a little hesitantly and ate it.
       ‘Hey, it’s not bad,’ he said enthusiastically, plucking all the petals off the rose and giving me half of them.
       I stole a sidelong glance at the people sitting at the other tables, hoping that nobody had noticed us.
       ‘You were talking about Hindi films,’ I said with a quick smile, stuffing the rose petals into my purse.
       ‘Let’s forget about intellectual justifications for why Hindi films are the way they are – the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I was so crazy about movies when I was a kid, that I once stood in a line for five hours to get a ticket for Sholay,’ he told me. ‘I know most of its dialogues by heart. What I wouldn’t do to get Dharamendra’s role in a film like that! “Basanti bhi tayyar, Mausi bhi tayyar. Is liye marna cancel.”’
       ‘Dharamendra’s cute, but I liked Amitabh more in the film,’ I said. ‘He’s so cool.’
       ‘Oh, he’s brilliant,’ Rahul said, eyes sparkling. “‘Arre, Basanti se uski shaadi kar ke to dekhiye, ye juwe aur sharaab ki aadat to do din mein chhoot jaayegi.’”
       “‘Arre beta, mujh budhiya ko samjha rahe ho,’” I grinned back. “‘Yeh sharaab aur juwe ki aadat kisi ki chhooti hai aaj tak?”’
       “‘Mausi, aap Veeru ko nahi jaanti. Vishwas keejiye, woh is tarah ka insaan nahi hai,’” Rahul said, delighted. “‘Ek baar shaadi ho gayi to woh us gaanewali ke ghar jaana band kar dega, sharaab apne aap chhoot jaayegi.’”
       ‘Actually, I loved Amitabh’s romance with Jaya Bhaduri,’ I said, laughing. ‘He’s quiet, but so romantic, so intense.’
       ‘You like the strong, silent type, huh?’ Rahul said. ‘No problem, I can also keep quiet.’
       He stared deep into my eyes.
       If you can’t beat them, join them. ‘Let’s see who blinks first,’ I said flippantly.
       We locked eyes over the table. He was trying so hard to look at me seductively, I smiled, but I didn’t blink. He was welcome to think of it as a romantic gesture, there was no way I was going to let him win. Karan had told me once that lovers looked into each other’s eyes to check whether the pupils were dilated because of sexual excitement. Hmm, Rahul’s pupils definitely were dilated, the black almost crowding out the reddish-brown iris. It struck me that perhaps my pupils were getting dilated as well, and I looked away immediately.
       ‘You blinked first,’ he shouted triumphantly.
       ‘I did not,’ I said, irritated, looking back at him. ‘I just looked away, I didn’t blink. See, my eyes are still open. I haven’t blinked till now.’
       ‘I haven’t blinked either,’ he said.
       ‘You’re lying, I saw you blink when…’ I shut up. This was ridiculous. We were squabbling like kids. How would Kavita and Saira analyse this?
       ‘You’re a bad loser,’ he said.
       I gave him a calm ‘You’re such a kid’ smile.
       ‘What?’ he said.
       ‘You were supposed to be proving to me that you can do the strong silent type number,’ I said.
       He gave me a sheepish smile and said, ‘Let’s do a second take.’
       ‘No second takes in life,’ I said, digging into the steaming plate of spaghetti the waiter had served me. ‘You get only one chance.’
      
      

Excerpt from Chapter 2

       ‘Of course, I have to resign tomorrow,’ I said.
       ‘Why? Why should you resign? You should sue the bastard, drag him into court for sexual harassment,’ Saira said. ‘There was this Supreme Court judgement…’
       ‘A court case?’ I laughed humourlessly. ‘Are you mad? I’ll be forty-five by the time it gets settled. OK, he jumped on my bones, but what do I say in court? That I went out for dinner with him, cried on his shoulder about my heartbreak, got drunk of my own free will, and it’s sexual harassment because he’s my boss and makes a pass at me? Huh!’
       Saira bit into her green salad furiously. Firstly, she was angry, and secondly, her salad did require a lot of chewing. I slathered some more butter on my pav bhaji. Who the hell wanted to have a ‘good figure’ any more? Eat food fit for cows and buffaloes, endure the pangs of hunger same as a person below the poverty line, and feel very proud of my self-control? For whom?
       ‘All men are bastards,’ Kavita said quietly.
       Saira and I nodded our heads in agreement. If there was one thing that all of us had discovered since coming to Bombay, it was this axiom. I had been the last one to catch on.
       When I was going around with Karan, I was sitting on cloud nine, looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses, telling my friends that they had let themselves get too bitter and cynical. When I fell down, back onto reality, they were kind enough to keep their ‘I-told-you-so’s to themselves.
       ‘I can’t believe that I was so, so dumb. I should’ve realised that Mr Bose was being so kind and sympathetic and all just because… just because he wanted to fuck me.’ I could feel the anger come up like bile in my throat. ‘I should’ve known as soon as he mentioned the word “dinner”. But I was this bloody nitwit, thinking he’s a nice guy because he’s so intellectual and well-read and artistic.’
       ‘How can somebody who loves Tagore be such a scumbag?’ Kavita said.
       ‘I wish I had his residence number,’ I said. ‘I’d call up his wife and tell her what a lech her husband is.’
       ‘Married men are the worst,’ Kavita said.
       ‘You can find out his residence number from your office,’ Saira suggested, always practical.
       ‘I don’t feel like going back to office.’
       ‘Why? Hey man, to hell with your boss,’ Saira said impatiently. ‘You just go and start working in the office from Monday, Paro. If he kicks you out, we’ll see to him.’
       ‘I don’t know, but meeting him again…’ I remembered his hands on my breasts and felt like squirming. ‘I’d feel kind of… humiliated.’
       ‘Why the hell should you feel humiliated?’ Saira argued. ‘He’s the one who’s been a jerk.’
       ‘Ya, but he’s seen me like that – almost topless – don’t you understand?’ I even had a love bite above my left breast. A love bite, for Chrissake!
       Saira started to say something more, but Kavita touched her arm, so she shut up. Kavita was the oldest amongst the three of us – twenty-seven. She was quiet and straightforward, no frills to the way she spoke, or the way she dressed. I’d never seen her in anything except jeans and plain T-shirts. Saira always wore sarees. Not that she was traditional, far from it. She just felt that they hid her fat better. She worked as a journalist for a daily newspaper and one would’ve thought that she’d be more comfortable getting around in jeans. But she claimed that she could even climb a tree in a saree.
       ‘One mango milkshake,’ I said to the wizened old waiter and tried to smile back at him, swallowing the lump in my throat. The nicest thing about this Udupi restaurant was the waiters – they didn’t mind us sitting and chatting for hours as long as at least one of us was eating or drinking something.
       ‘One chocolate milkshake for me,’ Kavita told him, inspired.
       “‘Chocolate cake,’” I said, shaking my head. ‘Actually, Mr Bose kept on comparing me with things to eat. Probably can’t think very far beyond food. No wonder he’s so fat. Eyes like chocolate cake – can you imagine? Milk and honey skin!’ I was trying to joke, but nobody found it very funny.
       ‘You should’ve told him to take his chocolate cake and stuff it up his ass,’ Saira said.
       ‘This morning I was thinking, when Mr Bose said to me, “I wish I could forget that I’m married,” I should’ve said, “It’s obvious that you don’t let your marital status stop you from playing around. But I…” No, that’s too long, I should just have told him that I’m not interested. Period. And before leaving, when he said, “You’re overreacting, Paro,” I should’ve said…’
       Kavita touched my hand gently. I drew it back. I didn’t want her sympathy. It made me feel like crying. Anger felt much better, it felt strong. It made me feel like getting up and fighting, not just lying on in the dust, weeping.
       ‘I don’t know what the hell I was doing crying in front of him about Karan. I didn’t even let myself cry in front of Ma when I went home, because she would have got upset… and you know how mothers are, she would have got it out of me about the abortion. I was so irritable all the time, I kept on snapping at her. She thought that it was because I’d been dieting, so she kept on feeding me and I kept on puking it all up. It was so bloody ridiculous…’
       ‘You must’ve needed the relief after holding yourself back for so long,’ Kavita said.
       ‘So I could have gone and cried into my pillow,’ I said. ‘I’ve been making such a fool of myself – crying in front of my boss… and oh God, I don’t even know who all saw me crying that day on that Silkina moisturiser shoot.’
       ‘Why don’t you join another production house, Paro?’ Kavita suggested.
       ‘Ya, I could do that… But it’s not easy, getting work. I had to job-hunt for more than three months after I came to Bombay. Of course, I have six months of experience now… But anyway… even if I do get a job elsewhere…’
       ‘Anyway what?’
       ‘Well, Karan’s a cameraman, he can shoot ads for any production house. If I meet him again… It was so humiliating that day, when we were shooting that Silkina Moisturiser ad, I didn’t quite beg Karan, but he wasn’t speaking to me and I… Shit, man, forget about it. Anyway, I can hardly say to my new employers, can I, “I’m not going to work for you if you use this cameraman”?’
       ‘What are you going to do, then? Run away, back to your hometown?’ Saira asked.
       I had thought about it, but it had been so much of a struggle to leave Amravati in the first place. None of the girls in my group had believed me when I’d said that I would go to Bombay and become a set designer some day. I’d had to work so hard for it –  getting the best marks in my commercial art class, saving up my scholarship money, convincing my mother to let me go. I was the youngest in the family, so I’d always been her baby. She had her misgivings, but she’d put them aside because she wanted the best for me. She wanted me to have all the opportunities she hadn’t had. She wanted me to soar. If I chucked up my career and went back home, what would she…
       ‘Hey, I’ve got an idea,’ Kavita said suddenly. ‘A friend of mine was working as an assistant director on a Hindi film. He quit a couple of days back. I don’t know if assisting on films is the same as working on ads, but if you’re interested…’
      
      

Excerpt from Chapter 1

       Bombay.
       Coming back to Bombay felt like an assault on the senses. Thud. Thud. Thud. The coolies started jumping into the train even before it had come to a halt. They squeezed their way through the crowded door which was packed with passengers waiting to get off. I glared at a coolie who brushed past my breasts but he had no time to even look at me. I cursed myself. I should’ve sat quietly on my seat till everybody else had got off. Victoria Terminus was the last station, the train wasn’t going to be running off anywhere. But no, I had to crowd into the passage with everybody pressing into each other like it were a local train.
       I turned to avoid the strong smell of chameli that wafted from the hair of the woman standing in front of me. As it is, my head had started aching because of the pollution by the time our train crossed Dombivali.
       ‘Don’t push,’ I snapped at the man behind me who was digging his suitcase into the back of my legs.
       ‘Then move quickly, no!’
      
       Everybody was in a hurry, but in typical Bombay fashion, nobody was getting anywhere. The roads were flooded and a bus had stalled in front of the station, blocking the traffic. It was March, it wasn’t supposed to be raining. It wasn’t supposed to be so hot so soon, either. But it was.
       I looked at my watch once again. It was one and a half hours since I had reached V.T. One hour of being squashed in the rush-hour crush of the local train from V.T. to Andheri. Plus half an hour of waiting for the bus. The only thing to feel grateful about was that I was protected from the rain by the bus shelter, unlike the men who were out on the street in knee-deep water, pushing the stalled bus. It seemed like an impossible task, but finally, they managed to move it enough to let the auto-rickshaws and two-wheelers pass. I decided that for once, I could allow myself the luxury of an auto, so I hiked my salwar above my knees, picked up my suitcases and stepped out into the rain.
       I hadn’t realised that the queue for the autos was so long. Seventeen people in the line and not one available auto. There wasn’t even any shelter here, so I just stood in the pouring rain, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I desperately needed to go to the loo. There was a McDonald’s right in front of me, and I was damned hungry as well, but I didn’t want to lose my place in the auto line. All I wanted was to get back to my place. Just my ‘place’, not my home, I wouldn’t call it home, in fact I didn’t really have… Oh, shut up, Paro! I watched in utter frustration as the bus I’d been waiting for passed by peacefully, splashing mud on all the idiots standing in the rain, waiting for autos, the biggest idiot in the world being, obviously, me.
      
      

TRUST ME: RAJASHREE

           The newest author in town, Rajashree’s Trust Me has already made it to the Afternoon Bestseller list. Her book has gone in for a re-print and she is all set for its official launch in India. Her debut novel has been called ‘Own own filmi chicklit romance’ by Kundan Shah; and Michele Roberts, who’s been a Booker judge, called it ‘A feminist romance set in the Bombay film industry.’ Rajashree, of course, still thinks of it as her ‘baby’.
           She has dabbled with a variety of things in Mumbai, from assisting in the making of big-budget multi-starrer films to designing the costumes for a tiny-budget Indie film. Her other ventures have seen her as producer, writer, creative consultant, journalist, lecturer and of course, director - she self-scripted and directed The Rebel that won the National Award for Best Short Fiction Film and was screened at many film festivals.
           She began by locking herself up in a Pune hostel to write fulltime. Her story began with a ‘drug addict’. (NA sessions were being attended and the young writer was busy scribbling her ideas.) A friend crept up on her one night crying about her lost ‘Mr Right’. Her life soon took another turn by bringing another man into the picture while Rajashree’s Drug Addict took a backseat. Her own experiences with the casting couch and lecherous producers gave her the setting while her friend gave her the story. Parvati became her new protagonist while a little joke heard a while ago about trust me translating to F**K you from Polish to English became her kernel.
           Writing for her is like acting - she believes in taking on the garb of her characters and becoming them. A first person account, the novel sways in and out of various types, creating refreshing characters. She quotes Sharon Stone, ‘When you’re playing a bad girl you can’t play her like “I’m playing a bad girl but wink, wink, I’m actually a good girl,”’ and feels it reflects her own way of character and story delineation. She describes her writing experience as a process of ‘let(ing) go of my own personality to catch the sur of this girl so that I could speak in her voice…’
           When asked about her future plans she excitedly responds. ‘I want to make a feature film next. I’ve written some scripts and am looking for a producer. “Produceji, producerji, whereforth art thou, producerji?’”
           A light, easy and funny read captures the Bollywood contraries of harassment and sentimentality. While creating a little filmy world in itself Trust Me set in contemporary urban India may just begin a setting in of another trend of writing here.

- Shahnaz Siganporia

AUTHOR SPEAK

“I HAVE WRITTEN A HINDI FILMI BOOK”

You have a film background. Your film The Rebel even won a National Award. What made you take to writing?
           I first started writing a novel when I was 11 years old. I made out a list of characters – I used to pronounce the ‘ch’ in characters like in chance, but not being able to pronounce properly didn’t hold me back from writing in English. In fact, my relationship with English started off on a bad note – I failed in first standard because I didn’t know English. I still remember the teacher writing the questions on the blackboard in a beautiful cursive writing and I couldn’t even understand the words. There was never much stress about my flunking – my elder sister distributed pedhas because she passed and I distributed pedhas because I failed. But my mother started teaching me English proactively. At home, I speak a mixture of Marathi and English. I feel a bit uncomfortable speaking just English or Hindi or Marathi. It’s all a glorious mish-mash, which we call Hinglish. Which is the language of my novel as well.

Being a small- town girl yourself, how much do you identify with the main character of your book, Paro?
           Actually, I identify with the hero, Rahul Kapoor, much more. Because he’s got his roots in Hindi films – he stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for Sholay when he was a kid. I did the same, and let me tell you, it was worth every minute!

How did you get the idea for the story? Does it in any way speak of your own experiences?
           It’s based on something that happened to a friend of mine. She was going through a heartbreak, when another guy started wooing her. She wasn’t sure whether she should trust him, because she’d been dumped by her ex-boyfriend… For me, writing this book was like acting, because it was in the first person – I had to get into the skin of this character I was quite unlike and be honest to her.

How do you foresee the future of Indian fiction?
           I think that there’s going to be more of everything in Indian fiction. More books, a wider variety of authors, more publishers and yes, more readers. I also feel that a lot more non-hi-brow books will be written in English. One reason is that there is a market for them in India itself, and even more important, there’s a certain ease we have developed with English, a less formal relationship with the language and with the stories we want to tell.

Who are your favourite authors and which are the most memorable books you have read?
           I love a lot of women’s voices – Helen Fielding, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Erica Jong, Harper Lee. But when I’m in the mood for time-pass, nothing beats a good old thriller. I don’t even try to second-guess, just enjoy myself thoroughly.

Are you planning to make any more films?
           Oh yes! I love films and I definitely do want to make films. In fact, I’m working on some feature film scripts right now and am searching for a producer.

Film making and writing are both creative mediums. What similarities and differences do you find in them?
           One thing I really missed when I was writing the novel was working with actors – it’s really magical, the way an actor apnaoes your lines and brings them alive. That’s why I thoroughly enjoyed the reading from Trust Me which Atul Kulkarni did as a part of the International Film Festival of India at Goa. I plan to have readings as part of the book launches of Trust Me in all the major cities.

How is Trust Me doing?
           Trust Me has been selling like hot cakes. The publishers have sold out the first print which was of about 10,000 copies and they’ve now printed the second edition.

Do you plan to make a film based on Trust Me?
           If I’d wanted to make Trust Me as a film, I would have done just that. I wanted to write the novel, I’ve spent ages writing and rewriting and rerewriting… This is the way I’d wanted it to be. But I do realize that a great movie can be made based on Trust Me, so I’m open to letting somebody else do it.

So, do you think that all men are bastards?
           Oh, God, no! Why would I write a romance, albeit a comic one, if I thought that all men are bastards?

Would your book appeal only to women?
           All the quotes recommending the book on the cover of the first edition were by men. The second edition cover actually has a quote only by one woman. Trust Me is quite a Hindi filmi book. So if you love Hindi films, like Rahul Kapoor does, or hate them, the way Parvati does, you’ll enjoy reading Trust Me.

TRUST ME: RAJASHREE

          Set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry, Rajashree’s Trust Me is a story about the complexities in urban relationships. Cheated in love, duped and heartbroken, Paro concludes “all men are bastards”. When she meets Rahul, she learns that there’s light at the end of every tunnel…or is there ?
          In this lighthearted debut, Rajashree balances comic and sad moods perfectly. Issues like the casting couch, stray leopards prowling the streets of Mumbai, quarrels with landlords and why clichés are a hit in the film industry are woven into the story. The language is colloquial, colours and movements are visual and well-illustrated. A fun read!

- Nishtha Gomes

GLAM LAUNCH FOR BOOK ON BOLLYWOOD

           Rajashree is not like Parvati, the lead protagonist of her debut novel, Trust Me. She is the quintessential Hindi film buff who stood in a queue for five hours to get tickets for the blockbuster film Sholay. This, she point out, is a stark departure from Parvati, who has a condescending attitude towards Bollywood. However, that does not stop Parvati from dabbling in films, encountering the myth called “casting couch’ and falling in love with the younger actor Rahul. Designed as a satirical take on Bollywood, Trust Me is replete with anecdotes and characters like Jumbo, that one may come across only in the world of Hindi Cinema. “Jumbo is a typical Mumbai filmmaker. He believes in white shoes, black money and the casting couch,” writes Rajashree. Even the romance between Parvati and Rahul emerges out of the formula Bollywood film, with Rahul holding Parvati’s hands on a moonlit night.
           The launch of Rajashree’s Trust Me in Kolkata at Crossword on Tuesday carried its own sense of drama and glamour. While actor Rituparna Sengupta and actor – director Anjan Datta hiked up the glam quotient at the event, relentless questions from the audience kept the panelists busy throughout the evening. Ritupurna handled the queries on the casting couch in a smart manner. “It depends upon the perspective of the individual – how badly he/she really needs it,” she said.
           Rituparna met Rajashree in Goa. “I was there for the screening of my films and it was there that Rajashree first told me about her book launch,” said the actor. Rajashree did not hesitate to shower Ritupurna with compliments. “She is one of the sexiest women in Indian cinema,” said the author. The book launch, with all its filmi moments, was appreciated by those present. Eminent personalities such as Gulzar and Kudan Shah have already put in a good word for Rajashree and Trust Me. If this transforms into good sales figures, Rajashree surely could not ask for anything more. Trust us.

- Ht City Correspondent

I AM A WORD-O-HOLIC

          Rajashree’s diploma film for FTII won her a National Award. Her book, Trust Me, a romantic comedy set in Bollywood, has just hit the shelves. Author Kiran Nagarkar recommends reading her ‘if you want to know how your daughter or girlfriend thinks’. Behind the lens, in front of the computer, Rajashree is making magic. And ME is watching! Meet Rajashree:

          I worked on film sets; I lived life queensize. I dare say I was happy, high on the champagne of life. All the while, something lashed inside me like waves at high tide. I recognized it as the urge to write.
          I began jotting down the story of a drug addict. I did not drink even tea or coffee, so getting it to feel real wasn’t easy. Around this time, a neighbour of mine began telling me about her own experience. Someone had ditched her. Though a boy was now interested in her, she could not bring herself to trust him. The story grew on me; I began to write Trust Me, a romantic comedy set in the Mumbai film industry. The book, a Rupa release, is on the stands. It was the greatest feeling to see it voted no 1 on the Afternoon bestseller list. I went to a Nizami Brothers concert the day it was released .They were singing a beautiful bhajan by Kabir. It went something like, “Man lago mero yaar fakiri mein”. I felt released, free. Like I had let go of my novel, like a diya on a leaf-boat I’d released in a river. Or many, many diyas which are floating down, waiting for other people to pick them up, waiting to make them laugh and cry.

MY LOVE FOR THE MOVIES

          Films have been a passion ever since I can remember. I once stood five hours in a queue to see Sholay.
          In pursuit of my passion, I went to the Film and Television Institute of India. (FTII) Pune, for a diploma in Direction. My diploma film at the Institute won a National Award. It was screened at some film festivals, too.           
          At the first screening of the film, there were just 12 people. It broke my heart to see the low turnout. I got together with a few friends and tried to figure out how we could raise the enthusiasm quotient of the people. An idea hit me. We began painting posters on old newspapers with the cheapest paint we could find in red, to signify The Rebel, the title of the film. The next show was House Full!

WRITING: IT’S A PASSIONATE AFFAIR

          Writing is, no doubt, my passion. Actually, putting my bottom to chair and pen to paper is anything but easy. I think every writer has experienced this: for the first few days, when the idea is fresh, you and your book are like new lovers who can’t keep their hands off each other. Slowly, but inevitably, you become like a much-married couple, who do care about each other, but the passion ebbs. I didn’t want that to happen, so I decided to take a disciplined approach to my writing.
          I rented a flat near Aarey. My room overlooked miles of greenery, and inspired me to keep thinking fresh thoughts. I put up a chart in my room, logging hours of work, and awarding myself a green star for targets accomplished and red mark for failure to do five hours of writing. It worked for me.
          But from time to time, I needed a break from the room (as I am sure do the most passionate of lovers!). So I took off on travels to Dharamsala, Pune, Nagpur – all this while furiously writing.
          I gave  myself six months to complete the novel. Of course, the six months stretched into one year, and then two. When I ran out of money, my mother supported me. It wasn’t great for my ego, but I was desperate to type the word END.
          Yes, writing is so much about passion. It is like a sadhana, much more a vocation than a profession.

SOULMATE – SEARCHING

          I’m single. I want to fall in love. With my soulmate. And with a story. For a film or a novel. A story that will sweep me off my feet and compel me to drink, breathe, love it till it finds its final shape.  

MY OTHER LOVES

          I love reading. Bridget Jones and Women Who Run With The Wolves are all-time favourites on my reading list.
          I love dancing, too. Once I get into the groove, I can dance till morning. And I can lose myself in the beauty of Nature for hours, days, a whole lifetime. There is no poetess, no artist quite like her, is there?

WRITE-UP ABOUT THE REBEL IN FESTIVAL NEWS

(To read the scanned version of the article, please click here.)

The Rebel

Rajashree’s national award wining 30-minute-long debut film, The Rebel, is both matter of fact and subtle about the subject, the characters and the turmoil they go through. The rebel of the title is Rahul, a teenage boy in a middle class household. His mother has remarried and Rahul feels left out and rejected.
Rajeshree scripts a twist in the tail, Rahul opts for a job at an old woman’s house. Slowly a friendship between them begins. She teaches him to feel the beauty of nature and the joy with which mundane chores and daily tasks can be done. When she dies he feels totally lost and alone. Finally Rahul turns to his mother and finds in her the same love that he had thought was lost due to her remarriage.

(To read the scanned version of the article, please click here.)
The Rebel
Dir Rajashree
29 mins. Fictional short

       This diploma film of Film and Television Institute of India graduate Rajashree, is the story of Rahul (Yashodham Joshi), an angry 15 year old who hasn’t got over his parent’s divorce many years ago and his mother’s remarriage. He folds up like a touch-me-not every time his mother reaches out to him and finds some distraction by helping a widow (Sulabha Deshpande) garden her backyard. He starts off by stealing food from her fridge, but gradually grows to care for her. It’s easy to see why this film, shot in black and white by Ramchandra HM, won the National Award for the best fictional short in 1996: the story is well structured and simply narrated, and, in its own quiet way, addresses issues of family, adolescence and increasingly brittle social relationships. The director withholds judgment and resists the temptation to succumb to the schmaltz factor, which overhangs the sequences between Deshpande and Joshi – how often have you seen a lonely but wise elder encounter a foul-mouthed but soft-hearted youngling? – even though the story strays into predictable territory by the end. Yet, The Rebel remains sweetly sentimental, made even more endearing by the performances of the seasoned Deshpande and the talented Joshi.
- Nandini Ramnath

WRITE-UP ABOUT THE REBEL IN THE INDIAN EXPRESS

(To read the scanned version of the article, please click here.)

REBEL EARNS APPLAUSE

Express News  Services               
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15: One would easily mistake her for one of the film buffs who have arrived in droves here.  Rajashree, national award winner for the best short fiction film of the year, got help from even onlookers while she was busy preparing posters of her film at one of the festival venues here. Maybe her girl-next-door look had something to do with it.  “The focus at the festival is on feature films and naturally, I had to do something to let the delegates know about my film, The Rebel. I started making posters out of newspapers and soon, there were people helping me out. We even made one from a shoe box,” said Rajashree, who looks younger than her age 26.
       All the efforts paid off. The 30 minutes film, haunting in the true sense and amply displaying the sincerity of the film-maker was screened to a virtually packed house today. The music in the film is evocative but the applause at the end of it all must have sounded better to the film maker. “This is my diploma film. The institute provides the equipment, the film to shoot and also Rs, 4,000 for production. This is inadequate. My cameraman, sound recordist and myself pitched in with money and completed the project. Sulabha Deshpande did not even take a single paisa for the film,” Rajashree told ENS.
       The young director was into street theatre not so long ago and is willing to give it a go even now. She has also directed a documentary Paravatibai – A Ragpicker’s story, assisted Saeed Mirza  in the scripting of a teleserial. and produced a documentary which was titled The Camel’s Story.
           Rajashree is currently learning Kathak and Dhrupad but has no plans of taking up either dance or music as a career. “They will help me in my film–making. I would also like to write a novel. It is a dream but who knows, it might just come true”.
       The young director is working on a film script now and will shortly be submitting it to the NFDC. Although an award has come her way with her first film. Rajashree is clear that films which do nothing but travel the festival circuit are an absolute no-no for her. “I would like my films to reach out to the public. Critical acclaim is important but the final word is that of the public,” she said.
       The film narrates the tale of a teenage boy who feels betrayed by his mother because she has set up a family with his stepfather and child. He does not fit in there and feels terrible lonely. The boy finds solace with an old woman next door. Her death shatters him, though ultimately he reconciles with his mother.

Please click on the links to read the following articles about Rajashree’s Films

TIME OUT
It’s easy to see why this film, shot in black and white by Ramchandra HM, won the National Award for the best fictional short in 1996: the story is well structured and simply narrated, and, in its own quiet way, addresses issues of family, adolescence and increasingly brittle social relationships. The director withholds judgment and resists the temptation to succumb to the schmaltz factor, which overhangs the sequences between Deshpande and Joshi – how often have you seen a lonely but wise elder encounter a foul-mouthed but soft-hearted youngling?       (read more)
THE INDIAN EXPRESS
Rajashree, national award winner for the best short fiction film of the year, got help from even onlookers while she was busy preparing posters of her film at one of the festival venues here. Maybe her girl-next-door look had something to do with it.  “The focus at the festival is on feature films and naturally, I had to do something to let the delegates know about my film, The Rebel. I started making posters out of newspapers and soon, there were people helping me out. We even made one from a shoe box,” said Rajashree…       (read more)
FESTIVAL NEWS
Rajashree’s national award winning 30-minute-long debut film – The Rebel - is both matter of fact and subtle about the subject, the characters and the turmoil they go through. The Rebel of the title is Rahul, a teenaged boy in a middle class household. His mother has remarried and Rahul feels left out and rejected. Rajashree scripts a twist in the tail…       (read more)
THE INDIAN EXPRESS
A close look at Rajashree putting up posters of her film, The Rebel…       (read more)
TEHELKA
Black and white gritty photography for The Connection foregrounds how much filmmakers have progressed both technically and in understanding cinematic language.… renews hope that beyond the glitz and hype of Bollywood, there is incredible talent waiting in the wings…       (read more)
THE TIMES OF INDIA
There are some who tread both the mainstream and the fringe. Rajashree assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali before she made her 30-minute film The Rebel, about a 16-year-old boy who is angry with his mother because she remarried. In between, the tall, slim Rajashree with long flowing hair, wrote a novel, Trust Me.  “It’s a romantic comedy based in Bollywood,” says Rajashree, signing a free copy for this reporter. The backside blurb announces, “All men are bastards.” And there are generous compliments from Gulzar, Kundan Shah and Chetan Bhagat…       (read more)

Please click on the links to read the following excerpts from Trust Me:

Bombay.
Coming back to Bombay felt like an assault on the senses. Thud. Thud. Thud. The coolies started jumping into the train even before it had come to a halt. They squeezed their way through the crowded door which was packed with passengers waiting to get off. I glared at a coolie who brushed past my breasts but he had no time to even look at me… (read more)

*

Saira bit into her green salad furiously. Firstly, she was angry, and secondly, her salad did require a lot of chewing. I slathered some more butter on my pav bhaji. Who the hell wanted to have a ‘good figure’ any more? Eat food fit for cows and buffaloes, endure the pangs of hunger same as a person below the poverty line, and feel very proud of my self-control? For whom? ‘All men are bastards,’ Kavita said quietly… (read more)

*

‘Let’s forget about intellectual justifications for why Hindi films are the way they are – the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I was so crazy about movies when I was a kid, that I once stood in a line for five hours to get a ticket for Sholay,’ he told me. ‘I know most of its dialogues by heart. What I wouldn’t do to get Dharamendra’s role in a film like that! “Basanti bhi tayyar, Mausi bhi tayyar. Is liye marna cancel.”’ … (read more)

*

‘So tell me, what else is your type – what kind of guys do you go for?’
What kind of guys did I go for? Oh yes, of course. Kavita’s patterns.
‘You know, I’ve got this pattern of falling for all the wrong kind of guys. And of having these really fucked-up kind of relationships,’ I said. ‘I mean, if you’re like, Prince Charming, I’m obviously not going to fall for you.’ … (read more)

*

‘Do you know what “trust me” means in Polish?’ I asked.
He shook his head.
‘What?’
“‘Fuck you.’”
He laughed. I smiled.
‘So, when a guy says “trust me”,’ I said to him, ‘a warning bell rings in my head.’ … (read more)

*

‘You know what the trouble with cats is? If a cat sits on a hot stove once, she won’t sit on a hot stove again. But the problem is, she won’t sit on a cold stove, either.’
‘Tom Sawyer said that,’ I said accusingly.
‘I wasn’t trying to steal his quote. And it’s Mark Twain, not Tom Sawyer.’
‘Ya, ya, same thing. Anyway, why do we have to talk, and analyse, and discuss so much?’ I asked, adding some blue to the design. ‘Can’t you think of anything better to do?’
He took the paintbrush out of my hand, kept it in the mug of turpentine, and kissed me soundly on the lips… (read more)

*

I took a deep breath and said, ‘Hello?’
‘Paro?’ Saira said. ‘I’m at Whacko’s place, tell me quick why I need to break up with him, I need a booster dose of antibodies, quick, before he comes back from the loo.’ … (read more)

*

Please click on the links to read the following interviews and articles about Trust Me:

DNA:
Rajashree’s diploma film for FTII won her a National Award. Her book, Trust Me, a romantic comedy set in Bollywood, has just hit the shelves. Author Kiran Nagarkar recommends reading her ‘if you want to know how your daughter or girlfriend thinks’. Behind the lens, in front of the computer, Rajashree is making magic…       (read more)

THE TIMES OF INDIA:
“I flunked in class one because I didn’t know English,’’ Rajashree says. “But you learn more from failures.’’ She sure did. Rajashree, who hails from Nagpur, and is a national award winning filmmaker, has now turned a best-selling author. Her novel Trust Me has already sold 40,000 copies…       (read more)

DEBONAIR:
Q: So, do you think that all men are bastards?
A: Oh, God, no! Why would I write a romance, albeit a comic one, if I thought that all men are bastards? …       (read more)

CNN-IBN
Trust Me to spill beans on B’wood
(watch the video of the news story)

THE HINDU:
Over the years books have become the inspiration of many a film. Now debutante writer Rajashree has done the opposite. She has written a novel in the form of a film narrative - cut to cut with razor sharp editing…       (read more)

WOMAN’S ERA
Writer par excellence, Rajashree is a fresh new addition to Indian English literature. Her debut novel Trust Me is the latest bestseller from Rupa & Co. It is selling like hot cakes…       (read more)

DECCAN HERALD:
Filmmaker Rajashree has made more than an impact with her first book Trust Me, says Utpal Borpujari. Trust Me could well have been a tragicomic film with the Hindi film industry as the backdrop…       (read more)

THE TIMES OF INDIA:
Rajashree’s novel “Trust Me!” is a funfilled love story set in Bollywood. The FTII alumna looks like the typical writer— her quiet eyes complement the free-spirited Bohemian streak. She loves the serene outdoors and is an ardent fan of FM radio. Her earthiness and earnestness are endearing…       (read more)

PLATFORM:
Rajashree’s Trust Me has already made it to the Afternoon Bestseller list. Her book has gone in for a re-print and she is all set for its official launch in India. He debut novel has been called “Our own filmi chicklit romance; by Kundan Shah and Michele Roberts, who’s been a Booker judge, called it “A feminist romance set in the Bombay film industry’. Rajashree, of course still thinks of it as her ‘baby’…       (read more)

FEMINA: 
Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist ‘Trust Me’ By Rajashree. This is Parvati’s story and her journey through the mad, mad world of Bollywood…       (read more)

MARIE CLAIRE:
Set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry, Rajashree’s Trust Me is a story about the complexities in urban relationships. Cheated in love, duped and heartbroken Paro concludes “all men are bastards”. When she meets Rahul, she learns that there’s light at the end of every tunnel…or is there? …       (read more)

THE HINDU:
“Paro stopped listening to me,” said author Rajashree of the protagonist in her novel “Trust Me.” Rajashree has loved the movies since her five-hour wait, years ago, for tickets for “Sholay.” She hates Paro’s condescending attitude towards the film industry…       (read more)

DASH:
Rajashree’s novel is just like a close friend talking about her love life. I’ve not been an avid reader but of all I have read, this is one of the rare novels that has actually made me compromise on my sleep just to know what happens next…       (read more)

Please click on the links to read the following interviews and articles about Trust Me:

DNA:
Rajashree’s diploma film for FTII won her a National Award. Her book, Trust Me, a romantic comedy set in Bollywood, has just hit the shelves. Author Kiran Nagarkar recommends reading her ‘if you want to know how your daughter or girlfriend thinks’. Behind the lens, in front of the computer, Rajashree is making magic…       (read more)

THE TIMES OF INDIA:
“I flunked in class one because I didn’t know English,’’ Rajashree says. “But you learn more from failures.’’ She sure did. Rajashree, who hails from Nagpur, and is a national award winning filmmaker, has now turned a best-selling author. Her novel Trust Me has already sold 40,000 copies…       (read more)

DEBONAIR:
Q: So, do you think that all men are bastards?
A: Oh, God, no! Why would I write a romance, albeit a comic one, if I thought that all men are bastards? …       (read more)

CNN-IBN
Trust Me to spill beans on B’wood
(watch the video of the news story)

THE HINDU:
Over the years books have become the inspiration of many a film. Now debutante writer Rajashree has done the opposite. She has written a novel in the form of a film narrative - cut to cut with razor sharp editing…       (read more)

WOMAN’S ERA
Writer par excellence, Rajashree is a fresh new addition to Indian English literature. Her debut novel Trust Me is the latest bestseller from Rupa & Co. It is selling like hot cakes…       (read more)

DECCAN HERALD:
Filmmaker Rajashree has made more than an impact with her first book Trust Me, says Utpal Borpujari. Trust Me could well have been a tragicomic film with the Hindi film industry as the backdrop…       (read more)

THE TIMES OF INDIA:
Rajashree’s novel “Trust Me!” is a funfilled love story set in Bollywood. The FTII alumna looks like the typical writer— her quiet eyes complement the free-spirited Bohemian streak. She loves the serene outdoors and is an ardent fan of FM radio. Her earthiness and earnestness are endearing…       (read more)

PLATFORM:
Rajashree’s Trust Me has already made it to the Afternoon Bestseller list. Her book has gone in for a re-print and she is all set for its official launch in India. He debut novel has been called “Our own filmi chicklit romance; by Kundan Shah and Michele Roberts, who’s been a Booker judge, called it “A feminist romance set in the Bombay film industry’. Rajashree, of course still thinks of it as her ‘baby’…       (read more)

FEMINA: 
Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist ‘Trust Me’ By Rajashree. This is Parvati’s story and her journey through the mad, mad world of Bollywood…       (read more)

MARIE CLAIRE:
Set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry, Rajashree’s Trust Me is a story about the complexities in urban relationships. Cheated in love, duped and heartbroken Paro concludes “all men are bastards”. When she meets Rahul, she learns that there’s light at the end of every tunnel…or is there? …       (read more)

THE HINDU:
“Paro stopped listening to me,” said author Rajashree of the protagonist in her novel “Trust Me.” Rajashree has loved the movies since her five-hour wait, years ago, for tickets for “Sholay.” She hates Paro’s condescending attitude towards the film industry…       (read more)

DASH:
Rajashree’s novel is just like a close friend talking about her love life. I’ve not been an avid reader but of all I have read, this is one of the rare novels that has actually made me compromise on my sleep just to know what happens next…       (read more)

Trust Me has been published in India by Rupa & Co.

If you would like to publish the book abroad, translate it into an Indian or foreign language, or make a film based on it, please contact Rajashree at rajashree.in@gmail.com or her literary agent, Isabel Atherton of Creative Authors Ltd, at write@creativeauthors.co.uk

       A reading of Trust Me and screenings of Rajashree’s films are being planned. Please do keep an eye on this space for announcements.

Here are some excerpts from write-ups about Trust Me:

‘Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist Trust Me by Rajashree’
Femina

‘A weekend must-read for every chick-lit lover. Go get it!’
Cosmo

‘In this lighthearted debut, Rajashree balances comic and sad moods perfectly. A fun read!’
Marie Claire

‘Romance peppered with Bollywoodian sequences of girl crashing into boy, roadside serenades, melodrama et al. Entertainingly breezy. Curl up in your bed and enjoy this chick-lit’
Sunday Tribune

‘Rajashree’s novel, Trust Me is a fun-filled love story set in Bollywood’
The Times of India

‘In this refreshing take on romance with the film industry as a backdrop, the insider details stand out for their authenticity’
The Week

‘Over the years books have become the inspiration of many a film. Now debutante writer Rajashree has done the opposite. She has written a novel in the form of a film narrative – cut to cut with razor sharp editing…’
The Hindu

‘A mad Bollywood caper about amour lost and found’
MSN India

‘A funny take on errant men and a woman who has learnt her lesson the hard way, Trust Me… is about finding love, dealing with lust and knowing the difference’
India Today

‘Rajashree is making magic…’
DNA

‘Rajashree’s novel is just like a close friend talking about her love life. I’ve not been an avid reader but of all I have read, this is one of the rare novels that has actually made me compromise on my sleep just to know what happens next’
Dash

‘A light, easy and funny read… While creating a little filmy world in itself, Trust Me, set in contemporary urban India, may just begin another trend of writing’
Platform

‘Rajashree… writes warmly and funnily’
The Telegraph

‘With the likes of filmmakers Gulzar and Kundan Shah and authors Kiran Nagarkar and Chetan Bhagat strongly recommending Trust Me, Rajashree seems to have struck the “write” note in her very first attempt at writing fiction…’
Deccan Herald

‘The latest sensational bestseller from the house of Rupa, Trust Me, tries to uncover the face of the real Mumbai film industry – the dark side behind the glitz and glamour of “the city that never sleeps”, a place marred by politics, black money and the casting couch’
Saturday Times

‘Funny and realistic’
Savvy

‘White shoes, black money, the casting couch and no-holds-barred language dot the 242-page effort. Rajashree’s… writing relies more on dialogue than descriptive or narrative pieces, but her imagery is vivid.’
Festival Daily

‘Designed as a satirical take on Bollywood, Trust Me is replete with anecdotes and characters, like Jumbo, that one may come across only in the world of Hindi cinema. Even the romance between Parvati and Rahul seems to emerge from the formula Bollywood film…’
Hindustan Times

‘A comic caper’
Indian Express

‘Trust Me… is a warm, funny story of love, heartbreak and friendship’
4th D Woman

‘Chick-lit and film tribute in one’
Sunday Mid-Day

‘Trust Me… is for anyone and everyone who likes reading’
Delhi Mid-Day

• Excerpts from Write-Ups
• Articles about Trust Me

• Excerpts from Write-ups about Trust Me
• Articles about Trust Me
• Articles about Rajashree’s Films

Trust Me is available in most bookstores in India. In case the book is out of stock in any store, please let Rajashree know at rajashree.in@gmail.com, so that she can inform the distributor.

You can also buy the book online from Rediff, Linuxbazar, Flipkart, etc.

Script & Direction: Rajashree
Hindi/ 30 mins / 35mm / B & W

       The Rebel is the story of an angry 16-year old who hasn’t got over his parents’ divorce and his mother’s remarriage. He folds up like a touch-me-not every time his mother reaches out to him, and finds some distraction in helping an old woman garden her backyard. He starts off by stealing food from her fridge, but gradually grows to care for her…

       Rajashree’s debut film, The Rebel, won the National Award for the Best Short Fiction Film and was screened at many international film festivals. Here are some comments about the film:

‘Haunting in the true sense’
Indian Express

‘Rajashree’s National Award-winning debut film, The Rebel, is both matter-of-fact and subtle about the subject, the characters and the turmoil they go through’
Festival News

‘…endearing… sweetly sentimental… well-structured and simply narrated… In its own quiet way, addresses issues of family, adolescence and increasingly brittle social relationships. The director withholds judgment… It’s easy to see why this film won the National Award’
Time Out

‘Outstanding’
Screen

To watch The Connection online, please click here.

Script & Direction: Rajashree
10 mins/ 35mm/ B & W/ Hindi/ EST

‘Rajashree’s… black and white film, The Connection is set against the backdrop of communal riots. No blood and gore here, just an outpouring of emotion when Anita (Neena Singh) is told that her brother has been killed in a riot in her hometown. Pregnant, unable to travel home, she confronts her grief alone as her husband leaves for the funeral. Fuelled by her friends, she turns out her Muslim neighbour’s young son (Ashwin Chitale), who loves watching cartoon network in her house. Struck by what she has done, she begs his forgiveness and bribes him with khakra back to her house, the TV, and her heart.

‘Pankaj Kumar’s black and white gritty photography for The Connection foregrounds how much filmmakers have progressed both technically and in understanding cinematic language…. renews hope that beyond the glitz and hype of Bollywood, there is incredible talent waiting in the wings’

 Sonjoy Roy, Tehelka

‘The Connection by Rajashree pours the syrup of humanity over thorny communal discords’

Mumbai Mirror

‘Like her debut film, The Rebel, Rajashree’s charming second fictional short is also in black and white. The film-maker has a keen eye for middle-class lives and habitats, and The Connection gets its milieu just right’

Time Out

Hi! Here are the links to some websites / pages that I like – Rajashree

Friends’ Websites & Blogs:

Mansoor Khan’s Website: Visiting Mansoor’s website always opens up a window in my mind. Try it.

Manjushree Abhinav’s Blog: It’s very beautiful, very poetic, written in the same style as her first novel, A Grasshopper’s Pilgrimage, which has been published recently by Rupa. (Manju’s my elder sister and our mom has always called me her sheput (tail), but I’m glad that I did at least something first – writing a novel.:-))

Prayas Abhinav’s Website: I’ve often been inspired by my jijaji’s creative energy and mast kalandar-ness. Take a dekho at it.

About Trust Me:

Trust Me in Wikipedia

Rajashree in Wikipedia

A blog that has been named after the central character of Trust Me:

Parvati

Some blogposts and reviews on websites about Trust Me:

http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Trust_Me_-_Rajashree-129848-1.html

http://ruchikapandit.blogspot.com/2008/02/trust-me.html

http://deeyanayarnambiar.blogspot.com/2007/11/trust-me-by-rajashree-rupa-rs-95-filmi.html

http://harrycheese.blogspot.com/2008/02/trust-me-by-rajashree.html

http://mokshjuneja.blogspot.com/2007_07_23_archive.html

http://www.funonthenet.in/forums/index.php?topic=13243.100

http://urvishjain.blogspot.com/2007/07/books-have-heavy-impact-on-my-life.html

Hi! Thanks for visiting my website. I’d love to hear from you at rajashree.in@gmail.com

Have a great day!

Warm regards,
Rajashree

The cover, poster and bookmark of Trust Me and a lot of the artwork used on this website have been designed by

Chetan Sharma

With inputs from Gayatri Rao and Romel Dias.

• The Rebel
• The Connection
• The Other Side

‘A most enjoyable read’

Geordie Greig, editor, Tatler & former literary editor, Sunday Times (UK)

‘Attractive reading from the beginning to the end’

Gulzar

‘Rajashree has a gift for being lucid and fun. Impressive debut’

Chetan Bhagat, author, Five Point Someone & One Night @the Call Centre

‘A very light-hearted, very entertaining romantic comedy’

Soha Ali Khan

‘Terrific story. Loved the humour’

Michele Roberts, author & former Booker judge

‘This fast-paced love story is crying out to be made into a blockbuster film’

Koel Purie, actor

‘Bollywood on the page, and quite hilarious’

Hugo Rifkind, columnist and author

‘Rajashree is a wonderful writer. She has portrayed life to the fullest’

Rituparna Sengupta, actor

‘Rajashree’s writing has a lightness of touch and when she lets herself go, she has a genuine comic talent. If you want to know how your daughter or girlfriend thinks and what makes her tick, read Trust Me’

Kiran Nagarkar, author, Cuckold and God’s Little Terrorist

‘Our own filmi chick-lit romance. Many moments, many small joys, many insights into the modern Indian woman’s psyche’

Kundan Shah, film-maker, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and Kya Kehna

‘Attractive reading from the beginning to the end’
Gulzar

‘A weekend must-read for every chick-lit lover. Go get it!’
Cosmo

‘A very light-hearted, very entertaining romantic comedy’
Soha Ali Khan

‘Rajashree has a gift for being lucid and fun. Impressive debut’
Chetan Bhagat

‘Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist Trust Me by Rajashree’
Femina

‘Romance peppered with Bollywoodian sequences of girl crashing into boy, roadside serenades, melodrama et al. Entertainingly breezy. Curl up in your bed and enjoy this chick lit [novel]’
Sunday Tribune

‘Rajashree… has a genuine comic talent’
Kiran Nagarkar

Trust Me is the biggest-selling Indian chick lit novel according to figures given in The Times of India and The Sunday Telegraph. It is a romantic comedy set in the Bombay film industry, Bollywood. It has topped The Afternoon and The Asian Age bestseller lists. The first edition sold out in less than a month and the book is doing so well that the sixteenth impression is in the pipeline. It’s also been critically acclaimed by critics, authors and film-makers.

Welcome to Rajashree’s website!

Rajashree is a bestselling Indian novelist and award-winning film-maker. She’s been a film buff since she was a kid — she once stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for Sholay. She has been working in Bombay after studying direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Poona. She’s assisted Mansoor Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A film she wrote and directed, The Rebel, was screened at many film festivals, and won the National Award and the Golden Ten Award. She has made Apun Ko Dekhne Ka Hai (The Other Side), a children’s film, which was screened in the Short Film Center at the International Film Festival of India, Goa, 2008.  She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Film Writers’ Association. She conducts workshops on film-making in Bombay and online. Her first book, Trust Me,  is a lighthearted romantic comedy set in the Bombay film industry, Bollywood. She is represented by Isabel Atherton of Creative Authors Limited, a literary agency based in the UK.

Trust Me is the biggest-selling Indian chick lit novel according to figures given in The Times of India and The Sunday Telegraph. It has topped The Afternoon and The Asian Age bestseller lists. The first edition sold out in less than a month and the book is doing so well that the sixteenth impression is in the pipeline. It’s also been critically acclaimed by critics, authors and film-makers. Here are some comments about Trust Me:

‘A most enjoyable read’
Geordie Greig, editor, London Evening Standard
Former editor, Tatler, & former literary editor, Sunday Times (UK)

‘Terrific story. Loved the humour’
Michele Roberts, author & former Booker judge

‘Attractive reading from the beginning to the end’
Gulzar

‘A weekend must-read for every chick-lit lover. Go get it!’
Cosmo

‘A very light-hearted, very entertaining romantic comedy’
Soha Ali Khan

‘Looking for an exciting chick-lit book with a twist? Then you simply will not be able to resist Trust Me by Rajashree’
Femina

‘Rajashree… has a genuine comic talent’
Kiran Nagarkar

‘Rupa and Co has had a runaway hit with novelist and filmmaker Rajashree’s Trust Me ‘
The Times of India

‘Our own filmi chick-lit romance’
Kundan Shah

And here are some comments about Rajashree’s films:

‘Haunting in the true sense’
Indian Express

‘…incredible talent… exceptional performance… gritty photography… foregrounds how much film-makers have progressed both technically and in understanding cinematic language’
Tehelka

‘…endearing… well-structured and simply narrated… In its own quiet way, addresses issues of family, adolescence and increasingly brittle social relationships… It’s easy to see why this film won the National Award’
Time Out

‘Outstanding’
Screen

Rajashree is a bestselling Indian novelist and award-winning film-maker. She’s been a film buff since she was a kid — she once stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for Sholay. She has been working in Bombay after studying direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Poona. She’s assisted Mansoor Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A film she wrote and directed, The Rebel, was screened at many film festivals, and won the National Award and the Golden Ten Award.  She conducts workshops on film-making in Bombay and online. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Film Writers’ Association. Her critically-acclaimed debut, Trust Me, is the biggest-selling Indian chick lit novel according to figures given in The Times of India and The Sunday Telegraph. It is a romantic comedy set in the Bombay film industry, Bollywood. She is represented by Isabel Atherton of Creative Authors Limited, a literary agency based in the UK.

Here’s a Q & A with her:

Do you identify with the protagonist of your novel, Parvati?

At one level, writing this book was like acting for me. It’s not autobiographical - trust issues have never troubled me much. But since this book was in the first person, I had to let go off my own personality and catch the sur (pitch) of this girl so that I could speak in her voice.

A friend of mine who’s an actor and director said to me today, ‘Acting is about being honest.’ I had to be true to Parvati’s character when I was writing even when I didn’t agree with her. For example, I’ve been a Hindi film buff since I was a kid, while she’s so condescending about Bollywood.  I really love something Sharon Stone said about her role in ‘Basic Instinct’ - when you’re playing a bad girl, you can’t play her like ‘I’m playing a bad girl but, wink, wink, I’m actually a good girl.’

Actually, I identify with the hero, Rahul Kapoor, much more. Because he laughs a lot and he’s got his roots in Hindi films – he stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for Sholay when he was a kid. I did the same when the film was re-released in the eighties, and let me tell you, it was worth every minute!

How did you start writing? Why do you write in English and not in your mother-tongue?

I first started writing a novel when I was nine years old. I made out a list of characters – I used to pronounce the ‘ch’ in characters like in chance, but not being able to pronounce properly didn’t hold me back from writing in English.

In fact, my relationship with English  started off on a bad note – I failed in first standard because I didn’t know English. I still remember the teacher writing the questions on the blackboard in a beautiful cursive writing and I couldn’t even understand the words. There was never much stress about my flunking – my elder sister distributed pedhas because she passed and I distributed pedhas because I failed. But my mother started teaching me English proactively, especially after we shifted to Southampton.

At home, I speak a mixture of English, Hindi and Marathi. It’s all a glorious mish-mash, which we call Hinglish. And that’s the language of my novel as well.

When I was a kid, I loved studying Physics, but even more than that, I loved watching films (even if that meant bunking school). My elder sister, Manju, and I started writing scripts when we were teenagers. She took admission in the Film and Television Institute of India, and I followed her (my mother calls me ‘sheput’, which means tail in Marathi.) I’ve been working in the film industry after studying direction at FTII.

I’ve done a wide variety of things in Bombay - from assisting in the making of big-budget multi-starrer feature films to designing the costumes for a tiny-budget indie film. Other credits include - producer, writer, creative consultant, journalist, lecturer and of course, director.

What was the idea behind the title Trust Me?

The starting point for this book was a joke which I read many years ago:

“What does ‘trust me’ mean in Polish?”

“‘Fuck you.”‘

It stuck in my head and I scribbled it down as a story idea. Quite a few years later, I was writing a novel about a drug addict (although I’ve never been addicted to even tea). I was attending Narcotics Anonymous regularly and trying to discipline myself to write fulltime by staying in a hostel in Poona. I made friends with a girl who lived in the next room and she would drop in quite often (I loved the excuse for getting away from my writing table.) She was going through a heartbreak and needed a shoulder to cry on. She’d been dumped by her ‘Mr Right’. Another guy was in love with her, but she wasn’t sure whether she should trust him. In the beginning, I used to listen to her because of friendly concern, but, slowly, like the ryme of the ancient mariner, her story drew me in. I forgot about my drug addict heroine and started thinking about her.

Around the same time, I worked with a producer who seemed to think that using the casting couch was his prerogative. I left that unit very quickly, but all these elements came together to form the storyline of Trust Me. The girl who’s been hurt so badly that she thinks that trust is a bad word. The guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and goes all out to woo her. And a sexually exploitative filmi setup which makes her withdraw into her shell even more.

Did you have a day-job when you were writing?

It would have been great if I could have, but I found that writing was demandingly full-time. I couldn’t work on two things simultaneously. I’d saved up some money – I thought I had enough to live on for the two years or so that it would take me to write a novel. Two years passed, three, but my novel showed no sign of getting completed. I did take breaks from writing to work in the film industry, but by the end of it, I also had to take money from my mom.

I was so broke that I’d walk into bookstores and look around hungrily, but the books were much too expensive for me to buy. One day, I told myself pointblank, ‘Raju, if you want to write a book, you can’t afford to buy any.’ After that, I accepted the situation and it stopped bothering me. But I’m very happy that my book has been priced for just Rs 95, not just because it’s a big factor in making it a bestseller, but also because I could have afforded it even in those broke days when I was writing the book.

What do you like the most about Trust Me?

I love the rap of the dialogues and the relationship between the girls – the way they depend on each other’s opinions so much so that when Parvati’s out on a date with Rahul, she’s thinking, ‘I wonder how Kavita and Saira would analyse this?”

Most of all, I love the characters - I’ve lived with them for so long, we’ve become old friends. They stopped listening to me quite a while back - I had to start listening to them as they told me what they wanted to do and how they wanted their stories to unfold. I love Jumbo, the director who believes in white shoes, black money and the casting couch. And I really wish I could learn from Manoj, who’s developed a very philosophical attitude towards rejection. He’s figured out that on an average, out of every eleven girls he asks out, one says yes. So he keeps on collecting rejections - an acceptance is bound to pop up soon. (He’s such a kind-hearted soul that he makes a pass at every girl he meets, because he doesn’t want anyone to feel unwanted). I’d love it if Rahul Kapoor were to come out of the book and start wooing me, but since he hasn’t shown much inclination to do so, I’m sharing him with all you girls out there…:-)

Your films seem much more serious than your book. Why’s that?

Actually, most of my stories, including my films, are about emotional healing. My last film, The Connection, is about a woman who throws out a Muslim boy from her house after her brother gets killed in a communal riot. And then she realizes what she’s done and tries to manao (cajole) him back. I like the way people change, this whole darkness to light thing. Even The Rebel is about the friendship between a sixty-year old woman and a sixteen-year-old boy who’s very angry with his mother because she’s remarried. So my book, like my films, are about getting hurt, closing up, then opening yourself to the world again.

What do you want to do now?

I went to a Nizami brothers concert the day the book was released in the bookshops and they were singing a beautiful bhajan by Kabir, ‘Lago man mera fakiri mein’. I felt released, free, like I’d finally let go of my novel, like it was a diya (light) on a leafboat I’d released in a river… Or many, many diyas which are floating down, waiting for other people to pick them up, waiting to make them laugh and cry…

It was great working on the book, but I’m happy to be moving on, to be entering a new phase in my life. I’m single and I want to fall in love. With my soulmate. And with a story. For a film or a novel. A story that’ll sweep me off my feet and compel me to drink, breathe, live it - till it finds its final shape.

Excerpted from interviews by Shubhra Krishan for DNA, Kanaka Singh for Debonair and Shahnaz Siganporia for Platform.