Q. Were you comfortable that Shashi Kapoor could not directly contribute to this book? Did you face any challenges as a result?
A. From the beginning, I knew that I would not be able to talk to Shashi Kapoor. But I was fortunate to talk to many people close to him, including Kunal and Sanjna Kapoor, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, and many of his colleagues — Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Simi Garewal, Shabana Azmi, Shyam Benegal, James Ivory, Aparna Sen, Govind Nihalani and even Hanif Kureishi. I spoke to Shashi ji’s friends — including Anil Dharker, and journalists who over the years had interacted with him. All of these people shared with me their rich, wonderful memories of working and interacting with Shashi Kapoor.

While researching for the book, I found many articles and other materials where Shashi ji has spoken or has written his views. I was fortunate to find some terrific video interviews with Shashi Kapoor in the extras for the Merchant Ivory DVDs of The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, Heat and Dust and In Custody. I felt as if he was talking to me in those interviews. There were many challenges throughout the time I worked on the book. But I am a journalist and I have learned how to work around those challenges.