If it were not for a movie, filmmaker Piyush Jha would not have taken on to writing. He was writing a script for a movie alongwith an actor, who got tied up with his schedule and couldn’t take out time to get involved with the script. However, Piyush kept on developing the story. “Instead of developing my ideas into a script, I started writing it as a story,” says Piyush, who was then advised by his wife to publish it as a novel.
And then happened the pleasant accident — a filmmaker turned a writer with Mumbaistan — a collection of three stories. “I just went with the instinct. But I’m happy with the reception of the book. In the first six days, the first print of the book has been sold out. And, it’s already on the bestsellers list,” shares Piyush, who has been fascinated by crime mystery. Jeffery Archer, Frederick Forsyth, Ian Rankin and Lee Child have had a huge influence on him.
Piyush is fascinated by the idea of storytelling rather than involving the readers with the prowess of language. “My idea was not to be highbrow. Their idea is to engage the reader in the plot and not in the language,” he says. So, here he is enjoying all the attention as a storyteller. And no, if you thought he drew his influences from Bollywood, you might be wrong, as he is quick to quip, “Perhaps I can influence Bollywood now.” The three stories in his book have been influenced by the numerous stories that he has read since his childhood.
“A lot of my friends in the industry are saying that it’s something new that I’ve done, as not many from the industry have taken on to writing,” says Piyush, revealing that the publishers have signed him for three books to be delivered within a year.
In fact, he took a year off to write these three books.
“The second book that comes out early next year is a continuation from one of the three stories in Mumbaistan,” he informs.