Journalist and author Hussain Zaidi, the face behind seven books based on the underworld, and also an active journo, who’s making his presence felt at Tata Literature Live! (Mumbai LitFest) speaks on fiction writing, underbelly, crime reporting and his understanding of cinema in a chat with MetroPlus.
What reorientation did you have to undergo when writing a fiction with Mumbai?
I had a 20-year long stint in journalism, which made it easy for me to write non-fiction. I basically had to write larger versions of my stories and make it into a book. Meanwhile, with Mumbai Avengers , fiction was a new territory, but I was very interested to weave in a plot around the 26/11 incident and show the discontentment of a nation. I was aghast on how easily a terrorist group could cross the borders and create mayhem in another country.
Writing a script was a challenge but there was a top cop from Mumbai, who was immensely helpful in getting the research and the detailing right, so much that I titled my lead character after him (Brijesh Singh). I approached Kabir Khan to make a film out of the idea ( Phantom ), who later introduced me to producer Sajid Nadiadwala.
Phantom, the film adapted from the same book received extreme reactions worldwide. How did you deal with the troubles?
The trouble in Pakistan was something that I’d honestly anticipated. What shocked me the most was how, without the film being censored or watched, the Pakistan Government sided with the petition filed by the suspect Hafiz Saeed. It was heartbreaking to see the rejection sans a proper basis. Interestingly, this entire incident raked up curiosity in the Gulf and the film’s collection in the region showed a sudden jump. Otherwise too, the film didn’t get affected much financially.
Given you had ventured into a space not many had gone into, was it easier to get noticed as an author?
It was an advantage that I’d written about the underworld, a subject that many hadn’t touched. I understood it was fresh. The intention also was because I realised nobody would have read my work had it been a done-to-death genre. Now having written a series of books on the same subject, I doubt if I have more material to write. So, moving forward, the ambition will be to choose another niche genre.
How did your the journalistic roots come to use and how different was it to get material on the subject?
The journalist roots did help me find sources. I had clear cut information on who were the witnesses, victims and how I had to procure the background information. Having been in the same field, it’s easier to work than others and get material, when the sources trust you. My first novel Black Friday took about four years to complete, Dongri to Dubai , about seven and Mumbai Avengers , close to 1.5 years. Journalism helps you to get into a writing habit everyday, so from 2000 words a day to 60000 words in a month wasn’t so big a challenge.
How does your family react with your involvement in such a dark space?
My wife is also a crime reporter, so it’s not conventional talk that goes on in the house. I have a college-going son and at home, it’s not movies or serials that get us talking. We talk about gangsters, their lives, hideouts rather openly, because our world as investigative journos revolves around that. It’s quite normal though.
Your views on the break he took from journalism and getting back?
I’m back to working as a reporter now. It feels good to be back in action from where I’d started. I had basically taken a break from my journo career in 2011 due to a series of commitments made to publishers, producers and directors. A lot of things were on the backburner and I had to finish nearly four books in the meantime.
Thedifferences younoticedbetween cinema and written media?
I still feel it’s Greek and Latin when I talk about the cinematographic representation of a book. With Phantom too, it was a revenge mission for the 26/11 incident of its own kind. In spite of the story being similar in both formats, I sensed a lot of difference in the results, the treatment, the characterisations. It may take its own time for the distinction to set in me.
Did you still have that bit of adrenaline rush when you heard the news of Chota Rajan’s arrest?
When I just heard the news of him being arrested, I didn’t have to search hard to access information about him. I sat on my desk, had all that extra material to write while all the other reporters in the country were desperate in their search of authentic and exclusive information.
