An Exclusive Interview with the Award-Winning Author; Darshan Muralidhar Desale

Darshan Muralidhar Desale is a college student, pursuing animation-VFX and Parapsychology. Just at tender the age of 22, Darshan already has a mythological tale named ‘MANU’ credited to his name. Mr. Desale has also written several popular audiobooks in the Marathi language in just one year, and several more are being recorded. They have gained immense popularity and appear under “Most Popular Audiobooks in Marathi” on Storytel. One of the most prominent media houses of the country; Sakal Times addressed him, as “The Youngest Author of World-Class Horror Stories.” Due to their immense popularity, many of them have been translated into English and Hindi too. Darshan Desale’s first audiobook “Zombie” was also the first audiobook about zombies in Marathi. His debut novel also won several awards, including being the First Runner-Up in The LIT Digital Awards 2021, “Global Leadership Excellence Award 2022” by Aesthetics international, and “Talent Hunt Award”, “Best book of the year” and many more. The young writer and music enthusiast has received a lot of acclamation for his work.

In an exclusive interview with Nitish Raj; Editor-in-Chief; the award-winning author talks about the horror genre, sci-fi novels and various other aspects of writing.

Q.1: How has been your journey from a VFX professional to an award-winning author?

DMD: I think both are connected to me. VFX and writing are the same things for me. Both fascinated me. We can bring any imaginary thing into reality on screen. Being an author, I have lots of thoughts and ideas in my mind. But not everyone will understand the ideas in the same way I have written. Because they imagine the idea in their way, according to their comprehension and experience. So, everyone pictures the same concept differently. But with the help of animation and VFX, I can put the same image on the screen as what I am thinking of. I can show you exactly what I want to show. And that too without feeling fake. As there is one saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words”. It’s kind of like that.

And the journey was so amazing. I learned many things, and experience many things in the journey from a VFX professional to an award-winning author. I always believe in the beauty of the journey and not in the destination.

Q.2: Your audiobook, ‘Vetal-Tekadi’ has gained much popularity as compared to your other books. Do you think there is any particular reason behind that?

DMD: I think yes! The reason is the Ending of the story. I always try to write unpredictable endings with a twist. This type of ending gives goosebumps to the readers. But I will give credit to the story also. While writing audiobooks, I always try to write something new. Something that listeners can hear for the first time! And they will find something new in it. Especially they would like the end of the story. And Vetal-Tekadi have both. The unpredictable ending, suspense, thriller, plot twist, horror element, and unique concept makes it very much special.

Q.3: Why is the horror genre in India, still not so popular as compared to western literature?

DMD: I think because of the way they are showing horror. People get bored by seeing the same and same story again and again. Very few people are making an experiment in horror. We have to bring some change to horror stories. Indian filmmakers are not trying to break the stereotypes in the horror genre in India. Nothing extraordinary has happened in horror! It’s not always necessary to show white cloth, creepy and bloody faces, and white lensed eyes to scared people. The audience is now getting used to it. The storyline is important. The concept of the story; or how differently they present horror to the audience with new ideas is more important. We have got bored seeing romance horror or comedy horror. We need something that will blow our minds. We need to do a lot of the experiments in the horror genre; then only it will become popular.

Q.4: What was your thought process before writing Karma?

DMD: The French novelist Gustave Flaubert once said, “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”

Before writing karma, I know that this concept is not for everyone. Only for a few individuals! Because when this idea pops up in my mind then immediately, I knew I want to write this story in every simple language. Like a child’s story. And I did the same. If you compare my book ‘Manu’ and ‘Karma’ you will find the difference. Because explaining the concept of ‘Karma’ in simple language with a real-life incident that’s the main challenge for me. So, I decided to write this story in very simple language. Similar to a kid’s story.

Q.5: How much ‘Manu’ has helped you to establish your credentials as an author?

DMD: Manu helped me a lot. I will say Manu was a turning point in my life. Manu gave me a new personality and a new perspective on life. It also changed me a lot.

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Q.6: What are the aspects which are making sci-fi novels popular amongst the mature audience?

DMD: I think Science fiction movies have played a very important role in this. With stunning visuals and new storylines, people love to see sci-fi movies. Sometimes sci-fi gives us a hint of the future, a vision for the future. Maybe that’s why people love to watch or read science fiction.

Q.7: How much our belief in God helps us to understand mythology?

DMD: We can’t connect mythology with God or belief in God. Both are different things. Mythology is not only a collection of myths and stories of God. It does not belong to a particular religion or culture. Mythology is a way of living life. People from the mythological period were much smarter and more advanced than us. If they were receiving extraterrestrial help or not is a different matter! But they were more advanced than us. And they knew some mysteries. They must have thought that they should pass this mysterious knowledge to the people and that’s why they created some stories and folklores. They hide the mystery in folklore and stories and spread it all over the world. Now those who saw these things as simple folklore, only know ordinary things. But those who looked deeper found a lot in it. There is so much hidden in mythology; we just have to find them. And I would say that some of the latest discoveries have been made by studying these old mythological things.  You will learn a lot from mythological characters. They have said that if you do this, the result will be like this. It also tells you the consequences of your various actions. Lord Krishna has said a lot about karma. Even if we put that karma law in practice, society will surely change a lot. The Geeta does not belong to any particular religion. It is a way of life. So, I think there’s no need to have a belief in God to understand mythology.

Q.8: Apart from ‘Karma’, what are your upcoming projects?

DMD: Yes, I have some upcoming projects related to Manu and Karma.  Currently, I’m working on a new concept. A concept that readers will read for the first time. But I don’t want to spoil anything about it right now.