Mumbai based novelist and freelance screenwriter Vrushali Telang is back with a third novel. The plot of Prime Time Crime revolves around gangster AT and crime reporter Ritika, who find themselves drawn to each other. The author talks to After Hrs about the challenges of writing a crime thriller and working on a romance novel next...
How did you hit upon the idea of a love story between a gangster and a reporter?
Mafia is my favourite genre in films and books. Despite enjoying these films, what I noticed was that the gangster’s love interest was always a moll, bar dancer, woman who coaxed him to change or then someone who did not really have a voice. I missed a woman who was intelligent enough to know that mafia is a one-way street, and someone who did not need him financially but yet was emotionally drawn to him. I missed an intelligent, independent woman who accepted a man for who he was. In this scenario, Ritika Khanolker could only be a crime reporter. I could not think of any other profession.
Tell us about the research that went into it.
To begin with, I was excited about writing a whole new genre and nervous too, as it is my first (and maybe the last as well). However, it is the economy of words to infuse speed is what I enjoyed playing with most. Also, in a thriller, plot needs to be water-tight. And for a tight plot, knowledge of the place in which the plot unfolds becomes paramount. So I took a camera and clicked places in Mumbai where I wanted to plot scenes. On Falkland Road, I was surprised to see the historical Alfred talkies and Chinese Dentists. So then I plotted my action there as well.
What are the genres you want to explore in your writings?
In my opinion, genre is a treatment. The way you decide to treat a story becomes the genre. I want to explore romance. It is something I have come close to in He Loves Me Not — but that too was a romantic comedy. So, the novel I am working on next is a romance. Social media has changed the way we love and that is something I definitely want to explore.
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