The Married Woman's author Manju Kapur: My books should reflect what I see in society

Manju Kapur. Image source: PR

The recently launched trailer of ALTBalaji and ZEE5's latest show - ‘The Married Woman' featuring Ridhi Dogra and Monica Dogra in the lead roles, has impressed the viewers, fraternity people, and critics alike for its progressive and path-breaking content.

Based on celebrated author Manju Kapur's bestseller novel 'A Married Woman', the trailer dives deep into the characters of Astha and Peeplika. The story, set in the nineteen nineties, revolves around Astha, an ideal wife, daughter-in-law, and a perfect mother; who has everything a woman can hope from her marriage- a responsible husband, in-laws, and two children, yet she feels incomplete as an individual. Breaking the norms of the normal society, she sets out on a journey of self-discovery and finds her path. Thus ensues, the story and the journey of a married woman. Peeplika on the other hand is a complete contrast, an artist who's never been interested in anything the least bit conventional who helps her explore her path on self-discovery.

"I'm not a didactic writer," informs Manju Kapur, as she elaborates, "I'm a mirror of society kind of writer, 'okay, this is what I see'... It's trying to understand these things, these poisons and viruses (that) grow if left unchecked, and it all starts at a personal level."

As she hopes that the adaptation of her novel will reflect the distress of her protagonists and the turmoil of the world outside. She also said, "First of all the outside does impact the inside... If you have something that goes as deeply as suspicion of another religion or intolerance, it may not affect the larger fabric of society and its troubling, it's troubling that we are still dealing with this."

Lecturer and author Manju Kapur is the winner of the 1999 Commonwealth Writers' Prize who has written books such as" The Immigrant", "Home" and "Brothers".

Her previous book "Custody" was adapted by ALT Balaji for the TV Show 'Yeh Hai Mohabbatein' that went on to be a huge hit among the TV audiences. Kapoor also said that the concept note from the production house seemed faithful to 'A Married Woman' published in 2002.

"I was quite impressed... it fit well with what I was trying to say, the emotion that I was trying to convey, the love and the distress and even the political background," she said.

The Delhi-based author was reminded of the time she wrote the book, all the memories flashed as she saw the promo clip.

Watch 'The Married Woman' streaming from 8th March only on ALTBalaji & ZEE5!