An Exclusive Interview with Vish Dhamija; “India’s Best Page-Turner”

Vish Dhamija is a London-based author of nine crime fiction novels, and frequently quoted in the Indian press as “master of crime and courtroom drama” and “India’s best page-turner”. He is responsible for stimulating the legal fiction genre in India and is the only author of Indian origin listed among the major legal thriller writers of the world. His book, Bhendi Bazaar featuring DCP Rita Ferreira was the #1 Bestseller on Amazon Crime for 10 weeks. 

Prior to starting his second successful career as a published author, Vish worked in marketing and retailing for over two decades for global brands like Ford, Kodak and United Colors of Benetton. He has an MBA from Manchester Business School is and is a law dropout.

Vish is also a public speaker and speaks about the significance of branding and positioning in life, success and failure and everything in between. He challenges people to step outside their immediate boundaries and experience life without fear of failure.

In an exclusive interview with Nitish Raj; Editor-in-Chief, The Literary Mirror, the noted author talks about crime and legal thrillers, marketing and branding of masterpieces along with his journey.

Q. As a ‘Master of Crime and Courtroom Drama’, how have you evolved as a writer from your very first book to your latest (10th book)?

Ans. To be honest, it was far simpler to write as a debutant—there were no expectations, no bars set. As a matter of fact, when I wrote my first book, I believed it was my first and the only one. But since the book became a success, I started writing more. It’s only human to want to do better than your last endeavor—whatever it might be, don’t you? After every little success, you want to do something new, something different, although there’s this constant fear, a pressure, that what you do next might not be is not as good as the last one. Notwithstanding that fear, you need to move forward, to keep reinventing yourself. That (in itself) causes a change, you have no option but to evolve… to grow, to deliver more than before, to reinvent yourself, and still be better.

Q. Do you think that the temperament of the readers keeps changing with time, and does that affect the creative expression of writers?

Ans. Readers are promiscuous—and I’m not saying that in a negative sense—but they read other authors from other countries, they read different stories, varied narratives and it opens their minds, and it furthers their appetite, and expectations. I believe in something I’ve said before, “you’re only as good as your last book”— every author must remain relevant, au currant, and yet deliver a story that the readers want, and in the manner they expect.

Q. How do you maintain versatility in your writing? What according to you stimulates the readers to become ‘India’s best page-turner’?

Ans. Versatility is key, and it is not as straightforward as it seems. I write crime fiction, but there are so many subgenres to explore within the genre itself. Legal thrillers, crime capers, police procedurals, romantic suspense, to name a few. Then there are narrative styles—first or third person or a combination of the two. You can use various perspectives. You can make a story move between past and present to give it a different flavor. I’ve always believed that how you tell a story is as important as the story. It brings versatility, freshness, and a newness to the story—something that surprises the readers in more ways than one.

Q. What is the role of branding and marketing in the literary world?

Ans. Marketing is key—doesn’t matter if it is a book or a car or a pair of jeans. The principle remains the same. Perception is reality. You are either wanted or you’re not. No author should underestimate the power of branding. No one should rest on their past accomplishments.

Q. We congratulate you on the adaptation of your ‘Rita Ferreira’ series into a multi-season, premium original digital series. Any others? Would you like to share your experience while writing the series?

Ans. Thank you. Yes, besides the Rita Ferreira series, two of my other books have also been optioned for adaption to screen (Unlawful Justice and The Heist Artist). DCP Rita Ferreira is one character that I am particularly fond of and whenever I have the opportunity, I write a book with her as the protagonist. I feel like the two of us are connected in an alternative universe J

Q. Do you think TV adaptations are exceeding the number of Film adaptations today? How much do these adaptations affect the essence of books and stories they are adapted from?

Stories need to be told. The medium of telling stories will keep evolving. Books to films to series. Although it entirely depends on the story—there’s no right or wrong—I personally feel that web-series do more justice to the story and the characters than a film simply because there is so much more screen time to play with. A film can be two/three hours long, while a web-series (even a mini-series) can be six episodes of an hour each. There’s more time to flush out even the side-stories, the non-lead characters that give a wholeness to the story.

Q. Would you like to share your journey through the transition from corporate experience, writing career, and business acquisition?

I am inherently a hunter. I get bored quite easily if I keep doing the same thing repeatedly. Corporate life, after a while, stopped being interesting. To tell the truth, I had to get out of that mundane life to preserve my sanity. I got into writing, and that was challenging. Then I decided I needed to do more—believe me, acquiring a running business is not as straightforward as it looks—and that challenged me enough to go for it. And here I am… and who knows where life will take me in a couple of years? We have one life—why should we play just one role when we can play several?

Q. Majority of the reader base still prefers the romance genre in India and capturing the ‘psyche of readers’ through other genres is still a difficult task. What is your opinion about this?

Ans. Romance is a largest selling genre around the world today, and it will be for a long time. That does not make other genres insignificant. In any event, genre is the last thing I think of when I’m writing a story. If the story makes sense, it will find a publisher, and it will find readers, trust me. There is no best or worst, there’s no right or wrong.