Taking elements from real life and colouring them with her imagination, Madhuri Iyer’s third book “The Strongman’s Daughter” mirrors issues like corruption and nepotism .
Agreeing that the book is based on the reality of our times, the author says, “It would engage the reader, I felt, because it is such a top-of-mind concern among the youth of this country. I have lived in Goa during my college days. The mining mafia was prevalent then, it’s prevalent now. But I do feel the awareness today, thanks to activists and the ever-present media, has exposed the big moneybags to a certain extent.”
The Fingerprint publication revolves around a group of activists headed by Raj Dias confronting Vithalrao Narvekar, Chief Minister, for a clean and green Goa. Playing a pivotal role in this epic battle is CM’s daughter Aditi, whom Raj dismisses as her father’s daughter determined to prove him wrong. Talking about the plot, Iyer explains that looking at the scale of nepotism and corruption of the political class, she wondered what if one of their kids actually turned out to be honest and did not propagate the values of their parents? “Although it was an idealistic and perhaps unrealistic premise, I decided to use the protagonist Aditi’s US education to help alter her mindset while taking care to project her as a feisty, independent-thinking girl in her own right.”
What renders the story interesting, besides the plot, is the way the writer has etched out its main protagonists who seem so real in their demeanour and disposition. Insisting that they all came out of her head, she says, “May be subconsciously, I have fused three or four characters I have known, and produced a unique identity for the fictitious ones.” Crediting this to her habit of people watching, she adds, “ I find myself staring at people at airports, or in malls. When I am walking at the Jogger’s Park in Bandra, I see the same people regularly. I have given some of them fictitious names, and imagined their fictitious life stories in some detail.”
Thus we have Aditi born with the proverbial silver spoon, far removed from the realities of life coming face to face with many of them including her father’s true nature and her own follies. Disagreeing that Aditi represents girls from rich families, Iyer explains, “I see rich kids who abuse their household staff, and then, rich kids who say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to the maids. Basically, it is how they were raised. Aditi is somewhere in between. When she encounters Raj she realises she has been living in a bubble of her own making. It is a choice between continuing her pampered existence or conducting a reality check with her conscience.” The writer says she had a lot of fun fleshing out Vithalrao because he is a caricature of the typical neta and yet comes with his own idiosyncrasies.
The novel infused with elements of romance and thrill makes a case for idealistic youth to take on the evils of society through Dias, whom Iyer describes as the Gen Z hero from whom earning oodles of money is not a life mission while giving back to society is. “That’s the new breed of thinking guys, and girls, the youth of today. They’re not too jaded to pick up a cause that’s close to their heart, however tough it appears, and go for it.”
Admitting that it may sound wishful thinking, she adds that “Honestly, every time I see a young person throwing their chocolate wrapper into a dustbin, it’s a start. It keeps hope alive.” Believing that every book must have a USP, Iyer states that she has seeded her novel which is purely in the commercial space with some fresh ideas. “The message here is, anyone can take up the fight against corruption, and, even if it’s a David versus Goliath situation, it shouldn’t stop you from trying. Although intense, the story makes it a point never to get too serious. I have written it to be an easy breezy read, to reach out to as many new readers as I can.”
Penned in a racy style like that of a Bollywod film, Iyer informs that she has pitched the story to a production house in Mumbai who liked the narrative outline and want screenplay. “That said, I did not start out thinking of it as a screenplay. It is a kind of story that lends itself to melodrama and I have exploited that.” All ready to create a set of e-novellas for an app-based start-up Readify, which will make short stories accessible on cell phone, she is on the throes of a murder series. “Set in idyllic Alibag, where vacationers, residents, and would-be murderers converge, promising some suspenseful reading late into the night!” reveals Iyer before signing off.
