Paromita is very special - it was the very first novel I ever wrote and it got accepted and published by Rupa and Co. in 2002. To be published in one's first attempt was a dream that had come true. I remember that Paromita started as a short story and it was the commissioning editor at Rupa, Mrs. Paro Anand who saw a seed of a novel in it and encouraged me to flesh it out.
There were no promotions those days, but I still recall the novel got at least seven great reviews in different newspapers and magazines in the children's books category.
Late last year the publisher announced that they were no longer going to sell/print the book and that its rights would revert to me.
That was the end of Paromita, or so I thought - till a couple of days back.
On Jan. 6, I found this message in Facebook - it had been sent three times in two months before I finally saw it. And this despite visiting Facebook daily and checking messages daily.
Here's the message from Mir Shaani:
[:D] omg!
hello maam ,i am mir and i am 15yrs old, i read your book paromita.... and i am simply in love with it, i really like the way you have written it.... i love making movies ..... i have also made paromita into a short film, its not done yet ... whenever it happens iI'LL make sure i send u a DVD of the film.... if u remember, moonis ijlal did the cover of your book , he is my uncle...
i jst wanted to take your permission .... hope you are ok with it! [:)]
regards
mir
For a minute I wondered whether it was someone playing the fool but anyway very hesitantly gave permission - only to be bombarded by a feast of photos from the shoot and a trailer. They can be seen on Mir's blogsite: http://may19films.wordpress.com/
To me the photos and trailer were an emotional jolt: because they were the life breath of Paromita as I had seen it in my mind's eye eight years back.
Paromita started in my mind as an image of a little girl running, her hair and sari flying and dancing in the breeze behind her.
Was she running from something? Was she running towards something? I don't know. All I know and recall is Paromita was first an image.
It grew into a short story. Then it grew into a novel. But the image in my mind remained. The image of a free spirit trapped in time, running hard, running fast...she had a rendezvous with destiny...she made her own destiny.
Mir's photos captured the spirit. I think his short film will.
For any writer, to know that one's story is being adapted into a film is a moment of triumph and fulfillment. It is also an eerie sensation because for the first time, scenes and characters that were alive inside one's head would now be seen outside on a screen. Would they match the scenes in the writer's mind?
To know that what was alive and vital for me is also alive and vital for the movie-maker gives me a strange sense of wordless connectedness.
And when that movie maker is a young reader, who read it with love, and responded to it creatively, the joy is doubled.
Mir says the movie may be released in summer...I am waiting.
There were no promotions those days, but I still recall the novel got at least seven great reviews in different newspapers and magazines in the children's books category.
Late last year the publisher announced that they were no longer going to sell/print the book and that its rights would revert to me.
That was the end of Paromita, or so I thought - till a couple of days back.
On Jan. 6, I found this message in Facebook - it had been sent three times in two months before I finally saw it. And this despite visiting Facebook daily and checking messages daily.
Here's the message from Mir Shaani:
[:D] omg!
hello maam ,i am mir and i am 15yrs old, i read your book paromita.... and i am simply in love with it, i really like the way you have written it.... i love making movies ..... i have also made paromita into a short film, its not done yet ... whenever it happens iI'LL make sure i send u a DVD of the film.... if u remember, moonis ijlal did the cover of your book , he is my uncle...
i jst wanted to take your permission .... hope you are ok with it! [:)]
regards
mir
For a minute I wondered whether it was someone playing the fool but anyway very hesitantly gave permission - only to be bombarded by a feast of photos from the shoot and a trailer. They can be seen on Mir's blogsite: http://may19films.wordpress.com/
To me the photos and trailer were an emotional jolt: because they were the life breath of Paromita as I had seen it in my mind's eye eight years back.
Paromita started in my mind as an image of a little girl running, her hair and sari flying and dancing in the breeze behind her.
Was she running from something? Was she running towards something? I don't know. All I know and recall is Paromita was first an image.
It grew into a short story. Then it grew into a novel. But the image in my mind remained. The image of a free spirit trapped in time, running hard, running fast...she had a rendezvous with destiny...she made her own destiny.
Mir's photos captured the spirit. I think his short film will.
For any writer, to know that one's story is being adapted into a film is a moment of triumph and fulfillment. It is also an eerie sensation because for the first time, scenes and characters that were alive inside one's head would now be seen outside on a screen. Would they match the scenes in the writer's mind?
To know that what was alive and vital for me is also alive and vital for the movie-maker gives me a strange sense of wordless connectedness.
And when that movie maker is a young reader, who read it with love, and responded to it creatively, the joy is doubled.
Mir says the movie may be released in summer...I am waiting.
And now I am eagerly awaiting too, Sumathi! Kudos to you and kudos to young Mir too!
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