The venue was jam-packed with youngsters, especially girls, as well-known author Durjoy Datta took the centre stage. The author of 15 novels, including bestsellers such as Till The Last Breath, The World's Best Boyfriend and When Only Love Remains, was in the city for the launch of his new book, The Boy with a Broken Heart.
Talking about his latest release, Durjoy said, “The Boy with a Broken Heart is a sequel of my previous work, The Boy Who Loved. I wanted to take the story of Raghu and Advaita forward and I think there might be another book in the series too.”
The 31-year-old author, who started his journey with Of Course I Love You..! Till I Find Someone Better, was happy to answer several questions — ranging from his books to family and his future endeavours — that his fans had.
Answering one such question about his struggles in the initial days as an author, Durjoy revealed that he had none. “I started writing when I was still a student. And like every other author, my work was rejected by publication houses too. But that was fine for me because I was still studying and wasn’t relying on writing as a full-time profession,” he said, adding, “Also, my first book was published in 2008, when social media platforms weren’t a big thing. So, when my first book became a hit, and 50,000 copies were sold, they were just numbers for me, and hence, there was no pressure. It was only after a few years when Facebook and other social media sites became so famous that I got to really know about the following I had.”
Durjoy and his wife, Avantika, recently welcomed a baby girl, Rayna into the family. Ask the author if that has changed his writing schedule, and he quips, “No, I am habituated to writing in chaos. Rayna has cut into the time for other things, like going out or watching TV. But it’s good to have a child.”
Interestingly, writing novels is not the only talent this young author had. Durjoy has also written for popular TV shows such as Sadda Haq: My Life, My Choice; Million Dollar Girl: From Banaras to Paris; Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi and Ek Veer Ki Ardaas... Veera. Talking about his work in the entertainment space, the author jokingly comments that he would have loved to write for the show Sasural Simar Ka. “The man who worked for the serial wrote 1,500 episodes. I mean just imagine the job security,” he laughs.
On a more serious note, Durjoy feels that most Indian serials start on a very good note — with innovative ideas. “But, after sometime it’s all about writing a script and getting it approved so that an episode is out every Monday through Friday. And hence, our TV shows are the way they are,” he says.
As the event came to an end, Durjoy signed copies of his books for the fans who were eager to meet him. Many were even seen clicking selfies with their favourite author.
