'I have the ambition of Ravana'

Before Anand Neelakantan became a novelist he wanted to paint like Pablo Picasso This was 15 years ago when the author exhausted with the monotony of a corporate job started to explore newer avenues At 30 he found himself picking up a paint brush again the last time he had done it he was a teenager and training under a professional artist only to be later told that he had just the talent of a hobby painterThat discouraged me he remembers Neelakantans instructor may have thwarted that plan but it veered him in another direction Because I had the ambition of Ravana I didnt give upNeelakantan started writing short stories for a local Malayalam magazine I was a great liar the 45yearold writer jokes Only someone who lies well can become a good storytellerVanara was written for the big screen says Neelakantan who has timed every scene like a screenplayA lot has changed since we last met him two years ago at the release of his first book in the Bahubali trilogy The Rise of Sivagami the prequel to filmmaker SS Rajamoulis blockbuster franchise who made an estimated total profit of Rs 1500 crore At the time he was just one among several mythological fiction writers Today he is among the handful who can boast entry into the crore clubWithin six years Neelakantans novels Asura Tale of the Vanquished the Ajaya series and The Rise of Sivagami have not only spiralled him to overnight fame but also made him one of the richest in the business His latest book Vanara The Legend of Baali Sugreeva and Tara Penguin Random House whose movie rights were recently sold to Dar Motion Pictures for crores is by far the highest paid to a writer for a single book in the country While Vanaras production is expected to surpass hundreds of crores Neelakantans The Rise of Sivagami which is being made into a webseries this year on Bahubhali scale is said to be Netflix Indias most ambitious project yetPicShadab KhanWhen we meet him at a suburban cafe he admits that what he thought was a pack of lies has turned out to be the biggest truth of his life He still has his corporate job he is chief manager corporate communications for Indian Oil Corporation but its his books that keep him goingMy debut novel Asura opened new doors for me claims Neelakantan I never intended to write mythology fiction It just happened I hail from Trippunithura a suburb of Kochi which was once the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin This place is home to 108 temples and is rich in the classical arts All of this which helped me see mythology from a different lensNeelakantan was particularly haunted by the character of Ravana I wanted to explore his story he recalls Fortunately my job commissioning rural petrol pumps took me to the remotest of villages in the south I used that time to meet up with the locals there and source as many retellings of the Ramayana as I could After seven years of research and writing Neelakantan completed Asura which revisits the Ramayana from Ravana and his peoples perspective But it took him two years and 18 rejections before he could secure a deal with Leadstart PublishingAsura which went on to become a bestseller only released with 500 copies he remembers It was after this book that a television channel approached me to write their show Siya Ke Ram Even Rajamouli sir director Bahubali series felt I would be able to take his vision for Bahubali forward after reading this novelToday straddling two jobs that of novelist and screenplay writer Neelakantan says he has been able to make clear distinction between mediums Television is mass its all about making quick money But you dont enjoy the freedom of expression that comes with writing books I think this is because it caters to the common belief of the people So what I wrote in Asura for instance can never be replicated for television Also Indian television lacks layering It has glamour and spectacle but no depth says Neelakantan who also cowrote the Netflix webseries 21 Sarfarosh Saragarhi 1897 a historical period drama based on the Battle of saragarhiHonestly writing for television doesnt evoke any passion in me With his novels Neelakantan says he tries something different each time Asura was more stream of consciousness while Rajamouli sir asked me to write the Bahubali book as a largescale epic that could be replicated for an international webseries But Vanara was tailormade for the big screen confesses Neelakantan Even before I sat down to write Vanara I knew that the story had to be told in two hours and ten minutesAnd so I decided it should not have multiple characters like The Rise of Sivagami which had 40 characters Films dont work like that Here everything happens in the city of Kishkindha It is a love triangle between Tara Baali and Sugreeva who marry each other more than once I have also timed every scene like a screenplay Some puritans will say you should not write like that but I believe that you should always write for a mediumFor someone who claims to have been shortchanged once too many during his initial years as a writer the multicrore deal for Vanara has been quite a gamechanger I am a bad negotiator and would never have had the courage to demand crores for my book which is why I hired an agent The Story Inks Sidharth Jain Money is a neutral thing but you need it to measure your worth My agent insisted that I dont sell myself short I feel that most writers should ensure that too They need to put their food down he says The problem is that writers are generally insecure people They need constant validation and thats good and important But is it enough to sustainNeelakantan who moved to Mumbai in 2015 feels that writers need to come together and start an association to ensure that their rights are protected You might say this is my Kerala roots speaking but I think we need to ensure that writers get their due They are often underpaid They dont ask for more money because they fear being labeled as arrogant he says adding that if an actor can demand an eightfigure pay the writer who drives his film should not bend backwardsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates