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Also, my subjects are popular stars. People know them. Yet when I tell their stories�I feel I should be able to identify with my subjects in a new perspective. And then expect that readers would too.

Interestingly, biographies were never the first choice. I wanted to explore fiction. But then I was asked to do a biography (Rajesh Khanna). I thought who would be interested in reading about a faded film star. I was proven wrong. My first book Rajesh Khanna:The Untold Story Of India’s First Superstar (Penguin India)�released to huge critical acclaim and went on to become a bestseller. It was shortlisted for the prestigious Crossword Award too.

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Yes, I am a full time TV journalist. As a journalist my job involves research, production and of course writing. It’s immensely difficult to balance writing books with the day job. It eats up all your time. All weekends go into research and writing.� It’s hard work. There’re no short cuts. You’ve to sit down and write. And rewrite. Infact, people close to me complain that I don’t want to socialise even on weekends.

But then nothing is as important as passion.

The day Rajesh Khanna passed away, I was in Mumbai and decided to be a part of his funeral procession. I was making a documentary on him. I met people close to him and fans who came from different cities to pay their last respect. It was surprising for a person like me who had never witnessed the Rajesh Khanna phenomenon in the 1970s. I grew up in the mid 1980s. I decided I want to tell the story of the superstar women were madly in love with, his shy smile, his trademark head tilt and those fluttering eyelids. Women married his photographs. The rivalries, relationship, deep-seated insecurities and the loneliness. What a life! What a human story!

This is an underdog story about a woman who started off her career at the age of 14. She came from Chennai. Hindi was not her language. I wanted to trace her transformation from that girl who was exploited and abused, her choice of films were mocked about, yet she went on to become one of the most enigmatic stars of Hindi cinema. Gossip and sensationalism remained a part of her life but the story is of a simple woman who refused to accept defeat. The book went on the become one of the biggest bestsellers of 2016.

�My audience is the generation which carries the Rekha nostalgia, the people with silver hair and silver memories; and also the present generation who’ve seen Rekha as a diva, who wonder who this woman of regal manners is, not knowing her humble and somewhat crude beginnings. And the sales prove it ! If I put it simply, the format of the book particularly is for cinema lovers.�I was writing the ‘mainstream’ narrative.

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Books and Authors he loves to read.

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I try to read/write for at least an hour daily.�Just concentrate on the research and writing. Be sure about your subject/proposal and why do you want to tell the story. It’s crucial to write when you’ve enthusiasm for your idea. If you don’t, sooner than later you might start doubting the idea. So just get up and write.

Other factors come later and I think the publisher can take care of a lot of things when it comes to marketing/promotion. Social media could be of great help. I use it to promote my work. It’s a great tool.

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