Anuja Chauhan gets candid on her new book, and how she is about to become a 'nighty' person
Anuja Chauhan gets candid on her new book, and how she is about to become a 'nighty' person
Youu00a0could almost miss her in an empty restaurant or confuse her with a young college-goer in a mall. But despite her petite frame, author Anuja Chauhan (once known as the 'mother of Pepsi in India with her campaigns like Yeh Dil Maange More) is a bundle of energy. The author is what convent school teachers would love to admonish as a chatterbox. 
Anuja Chauhan at the launch of her book
But all the chatter does nothing to hide the tension. With her new book, Battle for Bittora, out in the market, Chauhan is clearly jittery. "Now it is more like, Oh God. The writing was fun but the anticipation is more scary," she says.
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Fated in Bittoragarh
But the good part about a book, she says, is "the writing". After exploring the world of cricket in her first book The Zoya Factor which is being turned into a Bollywood flick by Red Chillies Entertainment, in the second book Anuja has delved into the world of politics. Before you do a flip, Battle for Bittora is a light read, something one would enjoy on board a flight or simply in the recess during classes.
This time, she sets her book in the fictional land of Pavit Pradesh, bang in the Hindi heartland. Her protagonist Sarojini aka Jinnie Pande is a kitaanu animator who works in Mumbai's Pixel Animations, far away from the world of politics.
But as fate would have it, her grandmother Pushpa Pande (aka Amma), once a formidable politician of Pavit Pradesh, now cornered in the Pragati Party (very much reminding you of the Congress party but Anuja vigorously denies any similarity) drops in at her office, and announces plans that she leave everything aside and help her in the upcoming elections, for which she is battling hard to get a party ticket. So off goes Jinnie with her grandmom to Delhi, where she meets her childhood friend, and sweetheart, Zain Altaf Khan.
Incidentally, from later that night Zain is to be her political adversary in the Lok Sabha constituency of Bittoragarh.
It's a whirlwind ride for both of them after that as they adjust to heartland and party politics, and also their love-hate relationship with each other.
Made for Bollywood, in Gurgaon
It's a complete Bollywood package. "You think so?" asks Anuja. Talks to convert her second novel into a film are on, she confesses, but she is yet to figure out the details and who would finally win the rights. (Hey psst...the author is not too happy with Red Chillies' delay with The Zoya Factor, though she is quite clear that once you give the film rights the author does not have any more say and the entire Chetan Bhagat hullabaloo over 3 Idiots was basically not happening).
What makes her choose the topics she writes on? "Up till now I am using topics of which I have some knowledge," she admits.
What made Anuja turn to politics for a storyu00a0 is the fact that politics and politicians are hated and lampooned. "There is a certain way politics is covered. You know (politicians shown as) paedophiles, kharab, ugly man, kaala chashma etc. But now more and more young people are coming in," she says. Anuja "enjoys the circus and carnival of elections" and takes her kids along when she votes.
"I didn't want to show everyone in entirely black or white. It is my own battle with the portrayal of a politician. Not everyone in politics is as bad as they show in Bollywood. How can anyone be so kameena?" she asks.
Say no to politics
Having said that, Anuja has no plans to join active politics, despite coming from a family of politicians (her mom-in-law is Congress' Margaret Alva).
Both Anuja's protagonists come from privileged families. "Two random youngsters wouldn't haveu00a0 gotten tickets for Bittoragarh. Lineage is the ground reality of the moment," she says, candidly.
The author researched by speaking to a lot of people and traveled extensively between Delhi and Dehradun to get a feel of the heartland. The result-day emotional roller coaster ride comes from first-hand experience, though.
Aal ijj well
The book is replete with Indian English which Anuja has kept purposely. "I tried not to use too much Hindi. So instead wrote in English which makes you feel you are reading Hindi," she says.
And while she is waiting for movie rights of Bittora to be sold ("movie rights are the only place money comes from"), Anuja fears she might soon become a "nighty person", for lack of reasons to step outside the house. She has given up on her ad agency job and freelances now. Plans for the third book are on already and she has a plot in mind. And we shall wait.
Publisher:u00a0 harpercollins
Price:u00a0 Rs 295
At: Leading book stores
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