Vilakkudy Boy Fawaz Jaleel’s Political Investigative Thriller Sparks Up An Unspoken Conversation

Fawaz Jaleel

We have been seeing a lot of conversation about caste in mainstream cinema these days, be it the Suriya-starrer Jai Bhim or Dhanush's Karnan. The former has been receiving rave reviews for its neat portrayal amid the several controversies surrounding it. However, even as crude discussions on caste make its foray into mainstream literature and cinema, one can't help notice that the conversation is restricted to certain castes or religions. That is where Fawaz Jaleel emerges as one of the freshest voices on this topic.

His political thriller book, Nobody Likes An Outsider is an investigative suspense thriller with a heavy flavour of politics. Set in Begusarai, Bihar, Fawaz Jaleel's book opens with the death of a young politician who was rising through the political ranks at a state and national level. The death opens up a pandoras box of secrets and a spine-chilling murder mystery that is linked to the modern history of Bihar and India.

While the book is an out-and-out suspense thriller, what puts it among the finest works of Indian political thriller novels is its contextual understanding of the political scenario the story is set in and the courage to leave the users with a news lens on caste dynamics in India. Speaking further on the exact details might give away spoilers for readers of the book. That said, Mr. Jaleel's Nobody Likes An Outsider doesn't side with left or right in terms of ideologies while presenting his perspective and this ability to question a' volatile' topic without batting for any one particular side is raw and fresh.

Published by Kalamos, the book scores well when one analyses the gender politics in the equation. However, the book would have benefitted from giving more development to some of the powerful women characters it establishes. The book is touted to be the first of the Yohan Tytler investigative series where the lead character is a young senior CBI officer, assisted by Inspectors, Ila Qureshi and Sukumar Azhagu. The book ends with a thread that indicates the plot of the second novel. Another important characteristic of the book is its ability to define unique character sets for three main characters - Yohan, Ila, and Sukumar who are likely to continue in the next installments of the series.

The book i.e over 200 pages in its vision to remain to-the-point avoids adding the usual flavour of the lead investigator's personal connection to the mystery and strictly focuses on using the economy of words to add to its political context building. However, in one or two chapters, the author drags the political commentary in an attempt to make it understandable for anyone and not necessarily the ones who have a solid interest in politics. This may not bode well for the politically aware readers but this issue is restricted to one or two chapters.

Speaking about the author, Fawaz Jaleel is a Kerala-born Indian thriller author who is based out of Mumbai and Bangalore. In the past, he has worked as a consultant to the Government of India for a project managed by the Prime Minister of India's office, apart from his corporate stints. His bestselling Indian thriller novel is available on Amazon, Flipkart and bookstores.