Hyderabad: Manivannan was only 10 years old when he wrote his first story but it was laughed at by everybody. He took a secret vow to return to writing someday and is now ready to mark his authorial presence with his debut novel The Great Indian Democracy. Take a plunge into the world of politics and journalism as it unveils the bitter truth wrapped up in humour and satire.
How did you come up with the idea of writing a political satire?
If I tell you the real story, you’re not going to believe it. I sat meditating on top of the Everest for 10 days, when on the 11th day I heard a voice from above ask me to write this book to awaken the people of India. I knew that you won’t buy it. So let me build a realistic story for you. I was deciding on a few topics to write a book and I bounced the ideas off a few of my friends. Satire won hands down as I found people want to have a nice hearty laugh at things. Since it’s widely followed and has a lot of scope for satire, politics fit the bill perfectly.
Is the story inspired from real life incidents?
Yes and no, in equal measure. The story is heavily drawn from my life and many of the people I have met. Various sub-stories in the book are my personal experiences, so in a sense Vikram’s mental voice is similar to what runs through my mind But, the characters and the setting in the book are totally fictional.
It’s your first book, what kind of response are you getting?
Now, this is the part that scares my wits out. Already the excessive swooning of girls, the compliments on my cute yet manly demanour are unnecessary by-products for a shy Tamilian like me. But, somehow I manage. On a serious note though, my main objective behind this book is to make people laugh, have a good time, and maybe think a little about the larger point I wanted to convey. I am totally cool if people hate it and dismiss it as a big slur to the literati world. Nearly 100 per cent of the people I know hate Tusshar Kapoor and his movies. Yet, he seems to be very happy and rich.
