It’s rather rare for a book to be made into a film before it is published. Usually filmmakers wait for published works to be successful before they invest time and money on them.

Kunal Basu’s recently launched, ‘The Japanese Wife’, a collection of 10 short stories, celebrates the twists and turns of life. Perhaps that’s why the unexpected was bound to happen with it.

In an interview with Deccan Herald at ITC Windsor the author chatted about his work and his association with Aparna Sen who has turned ‘The Japanese Wife’ into a film starring Rahul Bose and Raima Sen.

‘The Japanese Wife’ has been described as “a hauntingly beautiful love story”. How would you describe it and the other stories in this book?
I would describe ‘The Japanese Wife’ as a chronicle of the unexpected. Overall the theme that connects the 10 stories is an encounter with the unexpected. A meeting with strangers on unfamiliar turf. There are also some love stories in the book but always among unexpected people.

What attracts an author to the short story genre?
I started writing first with a short story. ‘The Japanese Wife’ was written in 1996 about 12 years ago and my first short story was ready before my first novel. Now I’m bringing them together in this book.

The short story and the novel are similar in the sense that one has to have a similar resolve to write them.

However in a short story one has to have a very disciplined approach since the space allocated in much lesser.
Purely from a writer’s point of view, the format of a short story is very attractive; there are many more stories that one can write.

I’m the kind of writer who likes to write many stories. They come to me as I’m walking down the street, or reading a newspaper article... With short stories I can take advantage of all the ideas that come into my head.

What sort of literature do you read?
Very eclectic. I grew up reading the classics. My father was a respected publisher (He is no more) and my mother is a well-known author in Bangla so I was brought up on Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Charles Dickens, Dostoevsky, Steinbeck. I have read a broad range of literature, also plays and poetry.

Do you believe that stories can be invented/contrived as opposed to inspired?
It’s a bit of both. Inspiration is critical to a story though. I don’t start writing with a master plan. I have to start with an exciting thought. ‘Contrived’ is not the right word for me. But I do think about the craft in the sense that I read to prepare myself better before I start.

Aparna Sen is going to turn ‘The Japanese Wife’ into a film. How did she get a look at the book before it was published?
It was purely coincidental. I didn’t know Aparna socially though I had always admired her work. We met in 2006 in Oxford at a friend’s house and later in that conversation, which continued in Calcutta over a cup of tea, I told her about ‘The Japanese Wife’. She loved the story.

‘The Japanese Wife’ is 14 pages long. How does one turn that into a full blown film?
Most filmmakers say that it is easier to convert a short story into a film than a novel! A  short story allows the filmmaker to embellish the characters and the context to give more visual substance to the story. As opposed to novels there are perhaps fewer decisions to make in terms of what to keep in the film and what to leave out. In any case stories have seen successful film portrayal over ages. (Having said that) I have taken a look at the film and I loved what I saw.

Were you involved in the screenplay of the film?
I was involved in the screenplay but I didn’t write it. Once I finish a story I don’t go back to it. (This is because) a lot is invested in the story emotionally. With ‘The Japanese Wife’ what I would do is meet with Aparna and maybe comment and refine upon the screenplay. I was definitely involved in the evolution of the screenplay.

In terms of personal satisfaction which of your works would you rate as as your favourite and why?
That’s a difficult question. As an author one is attached to all of them. ‘The Japanese Wife’ I am very excited about. It appeals at an instinctive and emotional level.

‘The Miniaturist’ was a hugely emotional novel to write having been brought up in this culture (the novel deals with the Mughal period).

‘The Opium Clerk’ is dear to me since it was my first novel and my first encounter with publishing and the media as well.

‘Racists’ is set in the Victorian age and I’m the only person of non-European origin who has dealt with the subject of race. There is no Indianness in the novel. For me it was a significant creative departure.

How did you come up with the theme (for ‘Racists’)?
How I came up with the theme is a total mystery to me. I was born in India and in this country, although we have a number of social markers, race is not one of them. So why on earth I came up with this theme is puzzling to me. I’m quite clueless!

What’s next in line?
I have started work on a new novel set in contemporary times in India.

Which part of India?
In some of the most dangerous parts of India. That’s all I’ll say at the moment...  Tell me what do you think about the stories?

They are quite evocative.
‘Evocative’ is an interesting word. Aparna Sen had said in Delhi that one has to write a short story in deft strokes and build the nuances along the way. I have spent a significant amount of time in bringing out the nuances and characters so that the reader can relate to them. We believe that we are unconnected but we are all deeply connected. I have tried to show this in ‘Long Live Imelda Marcos’ (one of the stories in ‘The Japanese Wife’) where a young Phillipino maid’s life is torn asunder because of riots that took place in Gujarat. 

Your other novels are quite hard-hitting compared to stories in ‘The Japanese Wife’ which are delicately woven and comparatively mellow...
Yes, ‘Racists’, particularly, is written in a spare style. It is a novel about science and science can bring out hurtful truths sometimes. The two scientists who carry out the experiment in ‘Racists’ are very domineering characters and (in a sense) it is a cruel story, whereas ‘The Japanese Wife’ is not so.

The one human emotion that runs through all the stories is compassion. 

Also, the book starts with a parcel of letters (‘The Japanese Wife’) and ends with letters (‘The Pearlfisher’). Incidentally, my daughter likes the latter best of all the stories in the book!