Que: Congratulations on your book ‘Dream Job’. How are you enjoying success?
Author: Thank you ‘Swapna’ and ‘The Literature Today’ for the interview. Well, I would say getting your book published is an achievement and that book becoming a best seller is a success. As of now, I could only tell that I am happy about being able to complete my book and getting it published.

Que: The title is sweet and relatable. What is the idea behind the title and cover page? 
Author: The whole story of my book revolves around the protagonist’s journey in chasing his dream job where life’s surprises and obstacles followed him. I could not think of any better title other than ‘Dream Job’ for it. Hence, I went with it.

The cover page is a metaphor which shows a working professional who leaves his hometown (shown as a village) to a big city (shown as high-rise buildings) to fulfil his dream, fells into a dilemma between his responsibilities towards his parents/family and his job/passion which would build his future. Through this cover page, I wanted to show a wider picture of today’s youth who unwontedly had to choose one option over the other and in the process he/she has to sacrifice an important aspect of his/her life.

Que: The story in Dream Job is nostalgic and relatable. What was the intention behind this book?
Author: We always talk about following our passion, achieving our goal no matter what. You will get a lot of success-story books, inspiring movies depicting the same, where fighting all the odds; the protagonist achieves his goal through his perseverance and hard work. But, there are always two sides of a coin. What about those who could not able to achieve their goal? Why does nobody talk about them? Compare to success stories there are a lot more unsuccessful stories. My intention was to show such an unsuccessful story where even after all the hard work and commitment, sometimes people could not able to achieve their goal; the reason for it varies. My book is an attempt to narrate their side of the story.

Que: Does the book also contain any personal experiences?
Author: I think every artist; say an actor, writer, painter, film director, photographer and many more; in some way or the other do add some of the elements/moments/experiences from their life in their crafts (acting), writings, paintings, films, photos. Likewise, I also added some of my personal experiences in it which I felt suited the plot.

Que: There is so much depth in Atul’s character. How difficult was it to develop the character?
Author: Before preparing an outline of the story, I did a thorough characterization of my central character i.e. Atul, as I knew my whole story is going to revolve around him. Hence, it was important for me to have a clear picture of Atul that how is he going to be. Since I had already lived my story several times in my mind; so, it did not take me much effort to develop the character. In fact, it was fun developing and adding layers to Atul’s character as the story moved ahead. It also helped to discover myself and my writing.

Que: What is your favourite genre in books? And why?
Author: I love suspense/thriller and murder mystery books as it keeps me on the edge and I crave for the next twist and turn which usually blow my mind. I also love literary fiction where the author targets various important social topics which often go unnoticed or least talked about. I believe these books act as a mirror to society. Some other genres which I enjoy reading are comedy, romance but with some inspiration, horror and short stories.

Que: How is Ayan Chakraborty as a person? What does he like the most?
Author: I believe we all change each day. The person I was one year back would not necessarily be the person I am now. We emerge and get mould with time and so did I. If one year back someone would have told me that I will publish my book in the next year; I probably would have laughed and wouldn’t have believed him/her. But here I am, with one book in my bucket. So, as of now, I would say Ayan Chakraborty is a person who believes in the simplicity of life and try to find happiness in every situation. I love three things which I am confident that they will not change throughout my life i.e. acting, writing, travelling and exploring new places.

Que: How has been your time during this pandemic going on?
Author: Like everyone, it was tough for me as well. But luckily I found an escape out of from it by completely emerging myself in writing this book. So, in a way, this pandemic worked as a blessing in disguise for me.

Que: What are the best books you read in 2020?
Author: Some of the book which I enjoyed reading in 2020 were ‘Seven Secrets of Shiva’ by Devdutt Patnaik, ‘Life’s Amazing Secrets’ by Gaur Gopal Das and also a comedy novel in Hindi ‘10^th Fail (Dasvi Fail)’ written by my dear friend Ajay Raj Singh.

Que: What is that one thing you wish to do if you are given magical powers?
Author: I wish to be cast in a primary role in a movie with all my favourite actors in it like Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpai, Rajkumar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Naseeruddin shah; I can simply go on. Apart from that, I also wish to travel the whole world and experience every culture that ever existed.

Que: What is your idea of new-age Indian writers in India? 
Author: I think today’s writers are expanding to various genres, they have become more risk-taking and do not shy away from writing on the sensitive topics which usually considered as taboo in our society. This surely has given a variety of options to the readers to choose from as per their interest and in some way, it does influence peoples in a positive direction. 

Que: Few words to the readers.
Author: Life is too short to live with a regret of not doing something you like. Be humble, be kind, believe in yourself, be your own critic and most importantly do not fall prey to the most common fear in life i.e. what would people say!   

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