Friday, November 28, 2014

Get To Know Author Devika Fernando

Genre: Paranormal Romance
If you’re playing with fire, prepare to get burned – or to fall in love.

Readers, please welcome author Devika Fernando on ILuvFiction today, part of the Blog Tour hosted by The Book Club. We will straight away move to the interesting part, the questions, we are dying to ask Devika.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Hollywood Recalibrated... what do you think fellow Indians?


New Jersey, USA 1998

Excited I sat there with my friend, ready for my first movie experience in US of A.
It was in one of the theatres, which had eight movie halls (a unique thing in 1998, for a person who was abroad for the very first time). Noida, where I was based, was about to boast its image by planning to have a three hall movie experience in Centre Stage Mall at Sector – 18.

But I digress; the movie was ‘Armageddon’ with my favorite Bruce Willis starring in it. The film was wonderful through and through. It had that typical flavor of USA smugness (we didn’t mind, as long as we were entertained), that predicted doomsday for entire earth and only Americans can, somehow save the world.

Towards the climax, we came to one particular scene, a two-second frame that made me cringe, as if one had encountered a speck of dust in the wonderful American stew. A little, tiny, speck of dust which grinds between your teeth, sending shivers down your body and spoils a tasty dish, you were relishing.

The scene was something like this; the whole world is looking up to Sceintists at NASA, Bruce Willis and team, to rescue them from the catastrophe. At the background the ominous music played, a glimpse of every part of the world is shown, people are watching, praying, waiting. And in that two-second frame we glimpse our India. In the backdrop of the seventh wonder of the world, Taj Mahal, the camera focuses on an emaciated man in white dhoti and turban, with cataract eyes and behind him several such men are shown bowing down.

My friend and I, in choreographed movements, turned towards each other. Sitting there in jeans, eating popcorn and sipping coke, both of us had the same question in our eyes. Is this what the world perceives India to be, even now, in spite of all our efforts? She being intelligent enough to study in USA with full scholarship. And me, thought worthy enough to be sent there for the final integration testing phase, for one of the company’s IT projects.

Anyway the climax was quite emotional and action packed, so we ignored our peeve, and enjoyed the last part (after all we had paid for the movie) :-)

Cut to Noida, India 2014  

Hearing great reviews by everyone, including Rajiv Masand (who I have never seen happy with any movie), my family and me were looking forward to ‘Interstellar’ that Friday in November. 

The hero, the handsome Matthew McConaughey (who at times I felt like was copying Tom Cruise. Fans, girls, please pardon me) chases a drone, stating it has been developed in Delhi…something… something, because in that stunned moment I couldn’t hear a single dialogue after he uttered Delhi. Only after confirming from my husband (had he heard what I have heard), I could sit and concentrate on the next scene.

Oh my! what a feeling… what a 360 degree change… 

In sixteen years, from that turban clad old man to a data collecting drone, designed by scientists in Delhi, being studied by an excited Mr. Cooper. 

You have indeed corrected your course, Hollywood. It was high time… What do you think, fellow Indians?

Images: Courtsey google images, IMDb
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Friday, November 14, 2014

Book Review:: 'Scorched by His Fire' by Reet Singh

Book Review
Genre:  Romance (Harlequin, Indian Author Collection)
Blurb:
Convenient boyfriend, inconvenient attraction!

Mita Ramphul can’t face another family set-up with a ‘nice young man’. What she needs is to divert her family’s attention… so introducing the devastatingly handsome Tanay Devkumar as her new boyfriend is a stroke of brilliance! Until Tanay’s blazing hot kisses threaten to shatter her plans for the perfect pretend date…

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Spotlight on 'The Ekkos Clan' by Sudipto Das


Genre: Literary
The Blurb:
"The Ekkos Clan" is the story of Kratu’s search for the killers of his family, his own roots and the mystery behind his grandmother’s stories.

It’s the fascinating account of Kubha and the basketful of folklore she inherited from her ancestors. The eventful lives of Kubha and her family span a hundred years and encompass turbulent phases of Indian history. The family saga unfurls gradually, along with Kubha’s stories, through the three main characters – Kratu Sen, a grad student at Stanford, Kratu’s best friend Tista Dasgupta, and Afsar Fareedi, a linguistic palaeontologist.

Afsar hears about Kubha’s stories from Kratu in a casual conversation, but she figures that these stories are not meant to be mere bed time tales – they contain rich linguistic fossils and layers of histories.

In a bizarre incident Kratu miraculously survives an attempt on his life. His sister and uncle had not been so lucky. Were these murders acts of revenge, or a larger ideological conflict connected to Kubha’s stories which conceal perilous secrets that should be suppressed?

Afsar, Kratu and Tista travel across continents to unravel the mystery of Kubha’s roots and the origin of her stories.

At a different level, the novel subtly delves into the origin of one of the oldest civilizations of the world and the first book written by mankind.


Meet the Author  

Sudipto was born in Calcutta to a family which fled Bangladesh during the partition riots of 1947. He grew up listening horrid stories of the partition, something which he has used extensively in his debut novel The Ekkos Clan. He completed his engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1996. He lives in Bangalore.

The links :
Author Website : http://www.sudiptodas.com

Some Media Mentions

"A promising debut in the growing realm of modern Indian fiction" - Jug Suraiya

"An Indian thriller inspired by Dan Brown & Harrison Ford!... fast-paced thriller, replete with murder and miraculous escapes" - Telegraph

"If you are a history buff and a thriller aficionado, then [it] might just be the book for you" - The Hindu

"A tale of the Indian civilization and culture... takes you on a roller coaster ride" - The New Indian Express

"An interesting read for an afternoon... One feisty woman's partition story" - Bangalore Mirror

"Should be read for its sheer aspiration and the intelligent handling of historical material" - The Sunday Guardian

"Is essentially a mystery novel, but is grounded in a substantial base of research and exploration into our past" - newsyaps.com
  

This Tour is Hosted by 




Sunday, November 2, 2014

Book Review:: 'The Cure Was Love' by Reet Singh

Book Review
Genre: Romance. Harlequin (M&B) 

Blurb:
For three months, Simi Gill gets to do what she loves – train to be a doctor and learn more about medicine. As a bonus, she gets to forget about the shallow boyfriend who dumped her, and worse, who hurt her. Living it up in New York, far from her home in India, she is saved by the delicious Rudy Bhatnagar, not once, but two times in one night!