I have a problem with books as disguised screenplays: Vivaan Shah

Actor-author Vivaan Shah talks about his career in prose, films and being part of an artistic family

Actor-author Vivaan Shah visited Bengaluru on Friday for a unique literary event: a recitation of the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Organised by the India Foundation for the Arts, the event embraced a spooky theme, aptly timed for Halloween, and Shah, donning a cloak, a top hat and a cane, immersed the audience in the eerie world of Poe’s writings.

Actor-author Vivaan Shah shares that he doesn't write for his books to turn into a film or series (Photo: Dhruv Sethi/HT)

Ask Shah, who recently released his third book, The Forsaken Wilderness, about the book-to-screen adaptation trend, which has been going strong over the past few years, and he voices his concerns: “I have a problem with books that are disguised screenplays. I am critical of this trend since my debut book was released during the boom of OTT platforms. Pop culture has created this idea where novelists believe that their books are part of the visual medium.”

The A Suitable Boy actor, however, hasn’t put a pause on his career in films, with the current year being “quite productive” for him. He says that his parents, actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah and his brother, musician Imaad Shah, provide a stimulating environment for his artistic endeavours. “We’re best friends first and even better art collaborators,” he says.

Lastly, expressing his fondness for Bengaluru, he says that it was here where he received the final edits of his first book, Living Hell. “Bengaluru will always be special to my heart; it’s almost like the city is a good luck charm for me,” he ends.