Prajakta Koli on her unexpected journey to writing debut novel

ldquoIve been writing all my liferdquo came the immediate reply when we asked Prajakta Koli what prompted her to write a bookKoli who has traversed mediums to entertain audiences has now donned the hat of an author with her debut novel lsquoToo Good To Be Truersquo ndash a romantic tale involving well ldquotoo good to be truerdquo characters and moments that weave a heartfelt storyJourney of the bookldquoIt started with journaling every day which expanded to writing blog posts and scripts for YouTube videosrdquo she tells us reflecting on how the seed of storytelling was plantedldquoDuring lockdown I wanted to explore longform content essentially screenwriting ideas that I could pitch to producers and OTT platforms as shows Because there was so much time I started working on some ideas We also put forth writersrsquo rooms for a few of them But I found this one idea to be so exciting that I wanted to see what I could do with it I started telling the story Initially I visualised it as a dualPOV series so I started writing voiceovers from that perspective Eight excerpts in my team told me that these seem like fullfledged chapters Writing a book was never the plan but thatrsquos how it was bornrdquo Koli revealsShe saw it through after announcing it officially inJuly 2023Ask her if the recent trend of content creators and influencers writing books played a role in her journey as an author and she is quick to say ldquoI have so much respect for everyone who writes nonfiction I think itrsquos extremely daring Lilly Singh Masoom Minawala Harshita Gupta have all written amazing books But I dont think I have it in me to do that right now Because it is fiction I could at least attempt to write itrdquoPrajakta Koli launched her debut novel Too Good To Be True on January 13 at an event in MumbaiWriting a novel can be a daunting journey For Koli making peace with the lack of consistent outcomes each day was the biggest challengeldquoI once read a quote that said writing is not tough but sitting down to write is The toughest part was the uncertainty of how productive I could be each day There were days when I would sit for hours and write one mediocre paragraph and rewrite it over and over Then there were days I would write three chapters in an hour This constant imbalance in planning threw me offrdquo she saysOn the other hand she reminisces ldquoThe most rewarding experience was just the realisation that I have ended up writing a book Whether its good or bad is secondary but the fact that I got through this and showed up for the book each day was extremely selfaffirmingrdquolsquoToo Good To Be Truersquo narrates the story of Avani who loves romance novels and Aman who seems to have come straight out of the pages of those booksDid Koli take any inspiration from her love life in shaping these charactersldquoI know Aman has brown eyes and a dimple and my fianceacutee Vrishank has brown eyes and a dimple but thatrsquos it There are no similarities and the story is purely fictionalrdquo she quipsVoice of the bookPushing the envelope of storytelling Koli and her team also released an original soundtrack and music video for the book before its launch The song lsquoSaanvarersquo has been written composed and produced by Outsky with additional vocals by the author herselfTaking us through the journey of the song Koli says ldquoA huge chunk of my audience may not be regular readers but everyone loves music and romance The idea was to weave this romance with visualsrdquoldquoSecondly as a reader every time I read a romance book I wish there was a face or visual or landscape to relate it to I wanted this soundtrack to make that happen We shot the music video in Landour Mussorie and the first snow of the season also occurred then So everything fell into place beautifullyrdquo she addsBeyond public eyeKoli has often been called lsquorelatablersquo having honest conversations through her YouTube videos Her fans have also seen her in different roles on screen but who is Prajakta Koli beyond the public eyeldquoNot very differentrdquo she is quick to respondldquoI find a lot of value in the relationships I have ndash whether its of me as a creator with my audience as an author with my readers as a daughter with my parents as a partner with my fianceacutee as a friend a sister and more My inner circle has been my biggest strength alwaysrdquo she statesldquoBut when I am alone I am probably nappingrdquo Koli remarksQuick questions with Prajakta KoliWhat does love mean to youPK Love is just finding beauty in ordinary things I dont want to chase quirks or things you do differently I want to chase things you and I have in common really small ordinary thingsWhich is your favourite romance novelPK Twisted Games by Ana HuangWhich is your favourite romance movieshowPK There are many ndash Kal Ho Naa Ho Kaho Naahellip Pyaar Hai among others My favourite romance show is the recently released lsquoNobody Wants Thisrsquo and lsquoMismatchedrsquo of courseWould you ever write an autobiography If yes what would the title bePK I have no clue I think you have to take yourself really seriously to write an autobiography Maybe eventually sometimeWhat do you like more being recognised as ndash a creator actor or writerPK A creator