After more than twenty years of working in a highly successful family business and owning a popular brand in the interiors industry, Karan decided it was time to get into self publishing—an idea that came to mind when he saw his son having so much fun reading books. It rekindled a latent passion for writing that he had developed after his college days, leading to his first book. It Happens, along with other books that will come out in due course, will be a testament to his storytelling and creative skills.
Karan has a beautiful family with two young boys, Aakash and Aayansh, and Aarti as his lovely life companion. He is a commerce graduate and a battle-hardened businessman. His other passions include both playing and watching cricket and football, as well as being an avid traveller. Loves cracking and listening to PJs.
“Writing stories is a passion. Making people emote to these stories is priceless.”
So, I had the pleasure of interviewing this down-to-earth and fun-loving human being! Karan, thank you for being so kind and taking time out to answer some of my questions.
Here’s my review of the book.
What inspired you to write a book based on this genre?
I don’t want to be bound by a specific narrative or genre and follow the famous tag line coined for Apple back in the late 90s…Think Different.
I want to write about unique and different topics. Thus when I decided to work on a love story, I wanted it to be different rather than the usual boy meets girl, followed by some complications etc. In the early 2000s I had developed a big crush on Meg Ryan and I believe if ever there was a contest for the cutest female in the world, she would have won it hands down.
That is when it struck me. What if I ever got the opportunity to be in a long term relationship with Meg Ryan would I let go of it just because she was elder to me ? This became the crux of my story…falling in love with the elder woman….this was the easier part but taking this relationship to its logical conclusion of a marriage was the difficult part especially with the Indian sensibility. This storyline really excited me a lot and hence the book It Happens.
How much of yourself do you put into your characters and were the any of the characters based on people you know?
When you write a book, a lot of things from the real life inspire you. One has to be very observant of things around as you never know when they could be just right for your story. As a writer I feel, the power of observation is extremely important to put logical line of thinking in the stories you write.
The entire story of It Happens when I penned it down the first time 10-12 years back, I imagined myself as the main protagonist i.e Gautam and Roshni as Meg Ryan, the famous Hollywood starlet whom I had a big crush on. All scenarios that Rohit, Gautam’s best friend brought up were all thought with me in the situation personally. If logically I decide not to marry the elder woman, what will be those scenarios and how would they pan out. All the points took a long time to think and debate their sensibility to the situation but it was indeed fun just to find yourself in the situation of reasoning so many doubts.
Every reader of the book has absolutely loved the character of Rohit, the witty, smart ass and suave delhi ka launda. Rohit is the character I wish I was whereas Gautam is the character who I am…strong on the outside but emotional and sensitive on the inside. I guess everyone wishes they are as funny and outspoken like Rohit and hence the fondness to that character.
The character of Gautam in terms of his physical presence as well as his work profile, I picked up from my very close school friend with the same name. He has done very well for himself and is currently a Director in Citibank Asia. He was picked up by Citibank for management training from India and has not looked back thereafter. That’s from where the Singapore part of the story was inspired.
Every character I write definitely has my touch especially when it comes to what I would do or how I would react to different situations…it brings out your goodness as well as the grey shades in your personality.
How did you know that ‘writing’ was your calling and where do you haul the passion from?
I am a big movie and television buff. I have always been fascinated by them and especially by the stories on which the movies are based. For me storyline is the key which holds the attention of the audience be it a reader or a movie watcher.
The film stars may attract you to go watch the movie but your liking of it will completely depend on whether you enjoyed the story or not. Similarly when you pick up a book, the first thing one reads is the blurb. If the concept of the story appeals you, then only the book is picked up.
When I watch movies my first instinct is to give my opinion on the storyline and then comes my take on acting. When you watch some movies, you get a feeling why did the director or producer even bother making it and wasting so much resources….few stories are just rehashed just because the original concept did well and you get a sense of deja vu. It was this instinct of being highly opinionated about stories that finally made me challenge myself to come up with themes which have to be different.
Does the title – ‘It Happens’ have any specific connotative reference and what made you zero in on it?
The original title of the story was kabhi kabhi which related very well to this unique relationship between the younger man and older woman. However when I converted the short story into a book to be published, I wanted it have an all English name. It happens got derived from kabhi kabhi...it is a catchy name and a title which is used as part of everyday conversation without we realising it.
Recall any funny incidents while penning down this book.
Since this was my first book, I was extremely eager to get it published and worked furiously towards completing it. My wife’s cousin Shreya an avid reader herself was the first reader of my book and helped plug in the gaps in the story. After reading the part of Gautam leaving Payal, she felt pretty emotional about her and prodded me to put a conversation between Payal and Gautam to explain the kissing event without which she refused to read ahead. The conversation between them which Gautam related as a flash back to Roshni took me couple of hours to write and was written at 2 am in the night at the Marriott courtyard in Ahmedabad where I was staying while on a business trip.
Shreya read it the next day morning and loved it and the story moved ahead.
Did you ever think about specking the book with a negative ending? How do you think that would have worked out for the leading characters?
There could have been various endings to the book…but I do believe in positive things and that’s what I want to portray through my stories. There is anyways too many negativities in the world we live in. For me ending the book with a smile for the reader and believing in love and destiny was the most apt. I even got feedback from a few readers that my characters were too goody goody as per today’s times which led to less tension and masala. I deliberately wanted to show my characters with the right human values and in a positive light. Such characters also do exist but due to our own pessimism we tend to overlook them.
Running a successful family business and satiating your urge to write, how do you manage to do both? Was there a phase in your life where you had to choose between the two?
Where there is a will, there is a way. Sometimes it is just destiny. Being your own business, it never came down to choosing between them as both are extremely close to my heart and I am equally passionate about both of them. Nowadays, I tend to reserve 1-2 hours for my writing work which seems to be giving me a good balance with my work as well.
Everyone has a tip to get out of a writing slump, what do you suggest?
New and fresh ideas can sometimes come anywhere. Personally, while sitting in an airplane disconnected from the world is the best place to come up with new plots. Recently on a 2 hour plus flight from Lucknow to Mumbai, I came up with the plot for my 4th book. Keep observing things around you and keep noting them down, I am sure you will get to use them sometime or the other in your book. When I am in the middle of writing the book, I am continuously thinking about the story while I am driving, eating etc, so that when I finally sit with my laptop I already know what I am going to write.
Scrawling down plot points or typing them on your phone/laptop, what do you prefer?
For me anything that I remember or observe or have to note goes on my mobile immediately. Most of my notes are on my mobile. Even if I have to speak anywhere or points of a business discussion everything needs to be handy on my phone. Laptop comes into play only when I start writing my book.
Do you surround yourself with specific objects that egg you to write?
I can actually write anywhere…for me table, chair, location is not important…what I need is my laptop and a peaceful environment.
All time favourite authors and books.
John Grisham’s Pelican Brief was the first book I read of his and still remains my favourite.
Music that you connect to writing.
The music of silence, I mean literally.
Your current read.
The Nice Guy Who Finished First – A Biography of Rahul Dravid
What are your future writing projects?
I am currently working on a romantic thriller which is currently titled What If. I am hoping to release the book by April or May 2018. After this will be a story about the youth of India and how they are looking at transforming the country. 4th one will be a love story but again of a different kind. I am pretty excited with all the storylines and hope that each one of them get a super response as It Happens has received.
Hope y’all had fun reading the little chat I had with this bag of talents! To know more about the man himself, do visit his website or you could interact with him on the social media pages – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Note: The author blurb and headshot is borrowed from goodreads.
Publication date: October 24th, 2017
Ruminations of a Raven 