Two years can be too short a time to make transitions. For 44-year-old Amish Tripathi, one of India's bestselling mythological writers, it was about moving from writing about his heroic, warrior queen Sita, to exploring the life of the man who kidnapped her, Raavan, and set the ball rolling for one of the most epic battles. Since then, a lot has happened. On the personal front, Amish admits — without divulging too much — that the last couple of years have been emotionally tough on him; telling the story of a vengeful character didn't make this any easy. The result is a book that Amish describes as one of his darkest mythological retellings yet.

Close on the heels of the release of Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta (Westland), the third novel in his five-part Ram Chandra series, we caught up with the author at his Lower Parel office, where he pulled together resources from his learning to discuss why Raavan, the king of great knowledge and talent, became one of the most misunderstood characters in Indian mythology. Edited excerpts: