The plot of From Man to Maneater is similar to that of a Bollywood movie. An IT professional with an unexciting married life comes to India in search of love and escitement. However, he turns into a killer. There is love, sex and crime in the novel. “It is the transformation of a man to a savage animal,” states Sumanth, an IT architect based in the US. Debut author Sumanth, who hails from Hyderabad, reveals his passion for writing. “I am a typical Marredpally guy; as a teenager I would narrate stories to my two younger brothers and cousins,” he smiles, recalling that he would cook up stories of him as the leader of a team of five boys that would bash up the goons underneath Tank Bund.
The thrilling narration had the boys spellbound and engrossed. Sumanth also reminisces of his grandfather and his stories on the Kumaon jungles. “I had this fascination for tigers and man-eaters. The characters are inspired by people that one is associated with; one takes from life and as you observe people, you have that person in mind.”
This passion to tell stories remained with Sumanth even as he continued his job in the US. When he decided to take a plunge into writing, he started backwards. “Generally one writes a plot and then the title is decided. For me, title came first and then the book,” he smiles. Sumanth never intended teh story to be a novel, but as he started writing, the story simply came along. It took two years to complete the book - one year to write and another to edit. “It came to 550 pages and people said, ‘Nobody is going to read it,’ he says with a laugh and adds, “ My aunt was encouraging and helped me. I got the content to manageable 350 pages.”
From Man... is set in an Indian context and has Indian characters.
“Most of the action happens in India. The dialogue is very desi and has Hindi slang words which are not translated; it is primarily meant for Indian readers.”
The book is also bold and he says, “I just felt that I should write it the way it has been expressed. Why sugar coat it?” he asks and adds, “One should write things the way they are. People should know how it is in life. Everything in the book is not explicit but certain areas are.”
Sumanth is already thinking of a sequel. “There is a twist in the ending and is open to interpretation. But my goal is to make the sequel much smaller,” he concludes.
