A2Z April Challenge 2019: C for Chandrakanth

Chandrakanth is the protagonist of my book Scorpio Superstar. 

As those who watch Tamil films must surely be aware, Rajnikanth is the superstar of Kollywood—Tamil Cinema. That is the reason I chose the name Chandrakanth for my hero. And the story is so essentially from the southern state, about a larger-than-life movie star. I spent the first half of my life in Madras and feel pretty attached to the city. And I still watch a lot of Tamil films. 

When I presented the story idea with a hero from Kollywood and his aunt as the vamp—Maragadham Periamma is not the evil kind, but one who makes life difficult for the heroine—to a publisher, I was told by the editor that I should shift my story to Bollywood since it’s internationally famous while not many have heard about Kollywood, and I should also remove the aunt’s character completely.

In essence, she wanted to turn my story on its head. And that’s when I decided I will not publish this book with that particular publishing house. It was much later that I realised that I had had a damn lucky escape.

Chandrakanth is a superstar who falls in love at first sight with Ranjini, a software engineer who runs her own business from Kotagiri, where she lives with her parents.

While the public refers to him as CK, Ranjini calls him Chandru, much to his delight. And Chandrakanth sweeps her off her feet, marrying her in a simply ceremony within a week of meeting her. 

The story goes on to show how the couple gets to know each other beyond the bedroom, with a lot of interference from Chandrakanth’s aunt, Maragadham. 

I have tried to give my readers a glimpse of how the film hero, especially a superstar, is revered like a Demigod by the rest of the film industry in Tamil Nadu while it’s pretty different here in Mumbai. 

And another thing I really enjoyed while doing research for this book is when I visited Ramoji Film City on the outskirts of Hyderabad. There’s a whole chapter and a little more when Chandrakanth goes to shoot at this 200-acre place that has so many readymade movie sets on offer. 

Scorpio Superstar is also the first book in the Written in the Stars series. With this book, I began writing about star signs that rule people and an ideal pairing of the same. Chandrakanth is a true-blue Scorpio while Ranjini is a Piscean. I have read Linda Goodman when at college. It was a pleasure reading her book all over again to learn about the qualities of Scorpio and Pisces. 

A Glimpse: Although CK is by her side, the Scorpio in him expects her to trust him implicitly. But can the Pisces in Ranjini accept him at his word?

Two of my books for alphabet C:

The Casanova’s Wife 

Book #5 of the Marriages Made in India series

Chahti Hoon Tumhe 

Book #1 of Romantic Shorts series
(The title is in Hindi, but the story is in English)