Tuhin A Sinha who has penned novels like The Edge of Desire, Of Love and Politics, That Thing Called Love and 22Yards was once a freelancer for Indiantelevision.com. He is a prolific TV soap writer too who has written shows like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Pyar Ki Kashti Mein, Koi Dil Mein Hai, Dekho Magar Pyar Se, Waqt Batayega Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya and Afsar Bitiya. A telefim, Phir Se, based on a story written by Tuhin which premiered on Sahara One, won the RAPA Award for the best telefilm in 2005. We decided to chat with this talented man for a candid chat for our behind the lens section. Read on… You once wrote for Indiantelevision.com. Can you talk a bit about the experience? I worked as a freelance journalist for about one and a half years from 2000 to 2001. I contributed about three to four articles in a month. At that time, I had just shifted to Mumbai and was looking for a profession through which I could financially support myself till I got a foothold in writing. Also I felt that in this way I would be able to be in touch with eminent TV personalities who would be of great help to me for my future career. As I had a flair for writing, contributing to Indiantelevision.com was something I actually enjoyed doing. As I was already a writer I had a better knowledge of what kind of questions to ask writers, directors, producers and actors et al. I must say that Anil Wanvari, Indiantelevision.com’s CEO, Founder and Editor-in-Chief was very encouraging and helpful. He knew well that this wasn’t something that I intended to do for a very long term. Nevertheless he was very supportive. He is one gentleman who I really need to thank for my success in my writing career. Of all the novels you have written which novel has done the best so far? The novel of mine which has gone on to sell the largest number of copies is That Thing Called Love. More than 1 lakh copies of the book have been sold. Now Rupa Publication is publishing the book as I was not too happy with the way the first publisher had distributed the copies. However the novel which has got the most critical acclaim has been The Edge of Desire. How have the regional versions of your novels fared? The regional versions of the novel haven’t done too well. I feel that it is because the translators haven’t done a very good job. Regional versions of English novels in India don’t go on to do too well as the translators can’t really grasp the essence of the novel while translating. Have you put in autobiographical elements in your novels? There indeed have been instances in my life which have triggered certain sequences in my novels. My books are however surely not autobiographical. However I have been inspired by certain people. In fact 25% of my characters have been inspired from real people. What autobiographical events which you haven’t included in your novels as yet would you like to introduce in your future novels? I haven’t planned to that as of now. However, later I may just do so. You have always maintained that writing TV scripts isn’t something you like to do and that you prefer writing books more. Why? Then why do you write soaps? Is it because there is good money in it? I like to write both books and TV serials. However I prefer writing novels to writing TV shows. When I write a book I am all by myself and therefore have more creative liberty. However when you are writing a show you are working with other writers, producers and channel honchos. But in the process there is an exchange of ideas which I also enjoy. Royalties on novels come in twice a year whereas soap writing on a daily basis gets very good money. In fact I know many writers who have concentrated solely on TV writing and have even bought BMWs. I am doing both TV writing and novel writing, so that I may strike a balance between creative satisfaction and monetary fulfillment. Honestly, what do you think of the quality of TV shows today? I think that this is a good time to be in TV as it has really improved in quality especially over the last three years. I quite like to see the kind of innovation that we have on channels like Life Ok and Star Plus. I feel that channels should go on experimenting with shows whether or not they have high TRPs. They should not pull out a good show just because it hasn’t been able to garner the desired numbers. Do you prefer dailies or seasons? As I writer I like to write dailies as it provides consistency. However as a viewer I have to admit that it’s exciting to watch seasons. Are you working on any book now? I am working on a sequel to The Edge of Desire which will tentatively be titled The Edge of Glory. I like to incorporate various relevant political and social issues into my fiction narrative. The Delhi gangrape incident of last year is in fact an important plot point in the story, the central story revolves around Shruti Ranjan, who takes on a corrupt and oppressive government single-handedly. It’s about how she fights to dethrone this government in 2014. Who are your favourite novelists and TV writers? I love reading the works of Milan Kundera, Moshin Hamib, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Manju Kapur. TV writers I like include Gajra Kottary and Saba Mumtaz. In fact I am very grateful to Gajra ma’am as she was very supportive in the early stage of my writing career. She motivated me to churn out new ideas, gave me invaluable feedback and helped me to polish my craft. Of all the characters you have created in books which one is the closest to your heart? The character closest to my heart is Shruti Ranjan from The Edge of Desire as this is the first time I wrote from a woman’s point of view. She is a very challenging character too as she goes through so many varied experiences over five to six years and emerges stronger in the process. Do you write poetry too? No, I don’t. Would you like to write film scripts in future? I am open to writing film scripts in future though I refuse to work on speculated scripts. This is because I did work on certain film scripts which ultimately didn’t take off as they didn’t find the right star cast or couldn’t procure the finances. In fact the film script I wrote for my novel That Thing Called Love wasn’t made into a film as well. You wanted to be an actor. Why didn’t that work out? Every person has a destiny of his own. I was destined to become a writer instead of an actor. I have no regrets for that whatsoever. In fact I quite like my professional journey in the city of Mumbai. Which are your favourite TV shows (amongst the ones you haven’t written)? I like watching Punar Vivah. I enjoyed Kuch Toh Log Kahenge in its initial episodes. I liked tuning into Bigg Boss during its final episodes. Where do you see yourself ten years from now? I would be the author of 20 odd books. I will keep writing columns for The Times of India and other prestigious publications. In future, I would like to enter politics. What is the best fan feedback that you have received till date? The best feedback that I have received till date was Reshma Kulkarni’s review of Of Love and Politics in The Hindu where she wrote ‘Indeed, in today's age of monosyllabic phrases and grammatically horrifying SMS-lingo, it is commendable to have a writer like Sinha who can so adeptly weave Shakespearean phrases like 'phlegmatic propensities' and 'puerile denials' with Shashi Tharoor-esque aplomb in his work.’ How has marriage changed you? What does your wife do? What makes the both of you bond? Marriage has definitely brought a lot of stability in my life. Being both, a freelancer and single, was a very deadly combination. My wife Ramyani is a teacher at the Unitedworld School of Business (it is a management school). We bond well as we are both simple, humble and have middle class values. Please tell us about your son Neev. My son Neev is nine months old. Having a son of your own makes you a better son. You then realise how much your parents have invested in bringing you up with love and care and that you have to work even harder to bring up your children well. Babies are so innocent; they are a contrast to all the shrewdness in this world. Parenthood is surely a blissful and a great journey.