Subhechcha Ganguly 
Manoj (Vaz) Ramchandran is a man who wears many hats. He is an advertising guru, an award-winning copywriter, bestselling author, screenwriter, strategist, graphic designer, sports administrator and anything else what he puts his mind to. He is possibly the only author who designs the cover and manuscript of the books he writes. Here is an exclusive interview with him.
How do you choose the genre of writing and how much pre planning goes into this procedure ?
I don’t choose a genre. I choose stories. I don’t repeat a genre as it does not challenge me. I like to challenge myself. Pre-planning and research. Quite a lot. Once you choose the genre you have delve into that. So research is most important and it provides credibility. But mostly I empathise with the characters and feel what they feel. So actions result naturally.
Sir can you please tell us how did the thought of Queedom come to your mind ?
Actually I was researching for a script on Rani Padmavati for a foreign producer. This was before Sanjay Leela Bhansali made Padmavat. It is then that got some vague references about these queens. It intrigued me that I had not heard of them. I delved deeper and deeper and connected dots. Hence, the story is an interpretation of history by Alysa Patel for her MPhil history thesis.
Sir can you please tell us about your book Tinsel and how tedious was the process of getting the book published ?
It was my first book. Since I was an unknown then, the manuscript was rejected without being read by most top publishers. Finally, it was published in 2014 and the second edition was published in 2020. Now that i have published 5 books and acquired a status in the literary world, the book is under negotiation to converted into an OTT web series. The book was written episodically for a 3 season (16 episode each) series long before OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime became popular.
Your writing style has been very different and versatile compared to that of other authors . What do you have to say about that?
Most authors specialise in a particular genre, I am exactly the opposite. I like to challenge myself, so I never repeat a genre. If you read Tinsel, Queendom and Children of Evidence, you will find it difficult to believe that they are written by the same author. Tinsel is hard reality based saga, Queendom is a historical based in the 11th century and COE is suspense, crime mystery for teenagers. My future books are The Calling (jungle adventure), Happenstance (Romance), Dot (Serial killer thriller) and The Game Changer (Sci-fi).
Interviewed by : Subhechcha Ganguly
