Award-winning director Piyush Jha, whose 2009 film Sikandar about a little boy&rsquo;s dreams to be a footballer in militancy-ridden Kashmir, fetched him rave reviews, has now resurfaced in a new avatar as a crime novelist. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/jul/Piyush-Jha.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 385px; " /> Piyush Jha In fact his first novel, Mumbaistan, is being published by Rupa &amp; Co, with whom he has cut a three-book deal. The book is slated to hit bookstores by the first week of August and will be released by Ekta Kapoor. Ekta took immediate interest in Jha&rsquo;s crime writing and has already reserved the rights to film one of his future crime thrillers. Apparently, she is so fond of Jha that she even wrote a front-cover blurb for his first novel. &ldquo;I discovered the writer in me quite by accident. After the release of Sikandar, I was wondering what to direct next when I started writing a crime novel just for a lark. When I finished the first novel I sent it to three publishers and to my surprise, all three accepted the manuscript.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/jul/Mumbaiistan.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 306px; " /> Jha&rsquo;s first novel Mumbaistan will also be turned into a feature film. He says, &ldquo;Mumbaistan is actually three novellas about the underbelly of Mumbai, as one novel. I need to choose one story from the novel that I can turn into a film or retain all three to make a three-segment film.&rdquo; He doesn&rsquo;t underplay Ekta&rsquo;s contribution to his new vocation. &ldquo;She has been extremely supportive and has written the official blurb for Mumbaistan. I&rsquo;ve been fortunate to discover my talent for fiction writing. I am committed to my publisher for three novels. I will continue writing even when I am directing my next film.&rdquo; Next on Jha&rsquo;s list is to convert his last film Sikandar into a novel. Music composer Vishal Bharadwaj took to filmmaking with success; but a filmmaker turning into a successful novelist is something new. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s destiny. Writing just fell into my lap. I&rsquo;m still a filmmaker first. But writing comes just as effortlessly to me,&rdquo; says Jha.u00a0

Director Piyush Jha turns crime novelist, feels that writing comes just as easily to him as filmmaking

The Sikandar of crime

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The Sikandar of crime

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