Q&A with ‘Q&A’ author Vikas Swarup
29 September 2009
Vikas Swarup published his debut novel in 2005, when he was 47. Titled “Q&A” and set in India, the book tells the story of a poor young waiter who became the biggest quiz-show winner in history, only to be sent to jail on accusations that he cheated.
The book, translated into 40 languages, became an international bestseller before it was adapted into an award-winning radio play by the BBC and, finally, in 2008, into a big screen hit that swept this year's Academy Awards.
By this brief account, Swarup, a career diplomat, can definitely be labeled a “lucky writer” whose debut has gone on to become one of the most successful debut novels around the world.
“Six Suspects,” Swarup's sophomore novel, first released in 2008, was published in the US by Minotaur Books in July, and it, too, has been optioned for a movie. The lengthy crime novel revolves around six very diverse people who are suspected of murdering an industrialist during a party at his home.
Swarup speaks about his writing career and his two books during an interview with Today's Zaman.
How did “Slumdog Millionaire” collecting eight Oscars affect your life?
Well, there are certainly many more demands on my time now than before the Oscars. I get invited to various things, from film festivals to beauty pageants. And people in my hometown of Allahabad have begun recognizing me in shopping malls. I don't think, though, that that is necessarily a good thing!
Following the Oscars, you said, “I console myself that this too shall pass and life will return to normal.” Has it returned to normal now?
Well, the film is more or less off the circuit and that means that I'm no longer being asked in interviews about my thoughts on the film. So, yes, I would say life has more or less returned to normal now.
You wrote “Q&A” in two months. What was the story behind this, as two months is really a short time to write such a successful novel?
I wrote this novel when I was posted in London, and I wrote this in the last two months of my posting, mainly because my family -- that is, my wife and my two sons -- had already preceded me to India. So I had no comfort, but more importantly, no distractions. I wrote this novel mainly on weekends. In fact, on one particular weekend, I wrote 20,000 words. I could write at such a fast pace because the novel was fully formed in my head.
I heard “Q&A” was not expected to become a bestseller and you worked “with a clientless agent.” How did the book attract the attention of director Danny Boyle?
I would contest that. Even before the film came out, the novel had already been translated into 36 languages and was a bestseller in several countries. Film Four approached me for the rights one year before the book was even published. Perhaps they were tipped off by my publishers. The first person who came on the scene was Simon Beaufoy. He wrote the screenplay and then Danny Boyle came into the picture as the director.
In addition to praise, “Slumdog Millionaire” also drew some criticism. How do you evaluate Salman Rushdie billing the movie's plot “a corny potboiler”?
The vast majority of reviews for “Slumdog Millionaire” have been positive. Mr. Salman Rushdie is entitled to his opinion. What matters to me is that readers in so many countries have responded very enthusiastically to my novel.
Your second novel, “Six Suspects,” attracts attention as a witty piece of fiction. Would you say that “Six Suspects” is more skillfully written than “Q&A”?
I think every writer should evolve in his writing, so from this perspective, the second novel should be better than the first.
“Six Suspects” can also be turned into a very successful movie with a skillful director. Have you received any offers yet?
BBC and Starfield Productions have already optioned the film rights, and they have commissioned John Hodge, who wrote the screenplay for films like “Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later” and “The Beach,” to write the screenplay for “Six Suspects.”
Twenty-eight years ago, you published a story named “The Autobiography of a Donkey.” Why did you wait for 28 years to restart writing?
I never thought that I had a novel in me or that I could be a writer. I never had the urge to write. It was only when I was posted in London between 2000 and 2003 and saw some of my friends in the Foreign Service trying their hand at fiction that I got motivated to write myself. Even then, it began only as a challenge to myself -- can I do it?
Do you have any other literary works that you wrote but did not publish?
I wrote a full-length novel called “The Hitman of Delhi” while I was posted in London but did not really show it around to publishers. I used it as a learning experience to write “Q&A.”
You were also posted to Turkey from 1987 to 1990. What influenced you the most in Turkey?
Turkey is an amazing country, a real bridge between Asia and Europe. What impressed me most about Turkey was the friendliness and openness of the Turks, particularly as I was able to speak some Turkish myself. I went to a six-month [Turkish] course in TÖMER at Ankara University.
You write in English as an Indian writer. According to many literary critics and writers, a novel belongs to the language it is written. Do you define your works as the products of English literature or do you define yourself as “bilingual”?
I went to an English medium school and that means that I can think in both English and Hindi. So I think I would define myself as a bilingual.
As a diplomat, you live in different countries, far away from your homeland. Do you think there is a relationship between homesickness and the motivation for writing?
Much of “diasporic fiction” is preoccupied with themes of rootlessness and alienation. I do not consider myself a diaspora writer. And even though because of my diplomatic duties I have had to live outside India for extended periods of time, I have always felt connected to India. I write about India as an insider.
Are there any masters of literature that you are influenced by? Who are your favorite authors?
I have read and admired many writers over the years. I am a very eclectic reader. Some of my all-time favorite works are: “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, “Disgrace” by JM Coetzee, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, “The Trial” by Franz Kafka, “Ten Little Niggers” by Agatha Christie and “1984” by George Orwell.