Atul Kasbekar
All good-natured, chivalrous heroes with drop-dead handsome looks from the old world classic romances are conventionally famous around the world. But for me, it’s the darker side of a man that I find fascinating. It’s always haunting to scoop out the hidden psychological layers of an anti-hero who is not your typical notion of being a perfect gentleman and also slightly aberrated in the eyes of social norms. He is cast out from mainstream society.
A slitted pair of brooding eyes, a scarred face, a deformed shape, an eccentric style or kinky mindset coupled with dubious mannerisms lend an extra edge to a character who is not so identifiable with the readers at large. These men with uncommon traits and temper make for an interesting revelation through their exploits within a crime-fiction or a mystery novel or a tragic play.
My favourite pick is Howard Roark, the lead male protagonist of the bestseller The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Published in 1943, this gripping pageturner highlights the story of Roark — a dynamic, young and spirited individualistic architect, who prefers to go the whole hog surreptitiously only to realise his artistic and personal goals. He never compromises on his methods to achieve it. The book entails his fight up the modern architectural ladder which others might misconstrue as illegal or anti-establishment. However, Roark sticks to his guns to rise from the ashes.
The common perception and tendency always lies in embracing traditions and discarding those innovative inventions. We instinctively push an experimental work under the carpet as it challenges the rulebook. And we consider that to be tremendously sacrilegious.
Atul Kasbekar is a fashion photographer
As told to Pramita Bose