At 60, Shobhaa De looks forward to a “crowded, productive and exciting decade”
You turned 60 the year independent India turned 60. Did that motivate you to write Superstar India :From Incredible to Unstoppable? Who are your superstars in today’s India?
I feel I have been writing this book in my mother’s womb, for 60 years. But yes, my turning 60 was the trigger — it was time to take stock of me and my country. Progress reports of both read rather well. Today’s superstars are only the products of cinema and cricket. The greatest superstar India has produced is Mahatma Gandhi. Nobody in the world can challenge his unique status. The others come and go as per the flavour of the season.
The 60th year of Independence has unleashed celebratory writings across the media for a year now. What’s different about your book?
I am not a historian, economist, industrialist, politician or academic. Mine is a ‘felt’ account of areas I know something about. Since the book has no agenda, its tone is upbeat and not entirely smug. It expresses despair and celebration equally. It’s not gender-neutral. It has been written by a woman in a woman’s voice. History is chronicled by men for men. It’s our turn now. I believe women experience countries and cultures differently from men. Read the book and check that out for yourself!
Do you cringe when you look back at the explicit sexual content of your once-hugely-popular S-series of books?
Out of 15 books, precisely three novels contain explicit references to sex. Yet, I am constantly asked about the sexual content of my books in an obsessive way. It makes me wonder about the levels of frustration... or the levels of ignorance? We are in the 21st century, not the Victorian era. Grow up. Every title of mine has been a bestseller, including the non-fiction-books that were anti-septic and squeaky clean, even by puritanical standards. I guess, I must be doing something right.
... contd.
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