Life beyond advertising: Pratik Kamat, on being an author

(Life beyond advertising is a weekly feature, where we feature advertising’s interesting people; people who do crazy, creative things after working hours. We try and understand their passion and drive for what they do, what makes them tick and what it takes to wear multiple hats.

If you fit the above description to the tee and would like to be featured, write to us at mukta.lad@web18.in _.)_

This week on ‘Life beyond advertising’, we have a published author, who spends his mornings (and evenings, and sometimes even the nights) as a creative partner at Rediffusion Y&R. Read about Pratik Kamat’s love for writing, his favourite authors and big influences, how the process of having a published book has changed him, and more…

How did writing happen for you, both for advertising and as a fiction writer?

I got my first break as a writer for youth magazines such as JAM, JLT and later Rock Street Journal and Rolling Stone, back when there were these archaic things called magazines you’d buy at a newspaper vendor. I was just 18 and I wrote about the two things I loved the most - rock music and movies. It didn’t pay much, but reviewing albums and interviewing rockstars was really cool, especially at that age. When the time came for a serious job, a friend suggested joining advertising. I actually joined as an art director. Long hours of changing red into yellow then green and finally into yellow followed. When finally a black and white ad was released, I decided to become a copywriter.

Svaha is a thriller with mythological characters meeting characters set in India’s present. How did the idea and the plot come to you?

The idea of an action-packed thriller with some elements of mythology seemed fascinating to me, personally. A lot of books feature mythology but the settings are ancient and really not something that anybody has ever experienced. I wanted a story where everything is real and gritty but still has a degree of wonder attached. Once it was clear I wanted to ‘reboot’ mythology, the plot really fell into place. The two leads- a nineteen year old girl from Bandra and a forty year old guy from Chennai are just everyday people caught in extraordinary circumstances. Seeing mythology through their eyes was something I thought would be really interesting.

How has the response to the book been? Are you working on anything new at this point?

For a debut novel, the response has been fabulous. The e-book on Kindle was actually in the top 30 bestsellers this week! However, it’s still early days as the book has just been out for two weeks. Since it’s a mass-market thriller, I’m hoping it does well. Svaha is the first of a planned trilogy, and I am working on a sequel.

Who are your biggest literary influences?

The biggest influence on me as a writer has been JJ Abrams. Nobody does a serialized mystery like him. What really amazes me is that everything he writes works brilliantly not only on a blockbuster level, but also on a character level.

In a world where human drama is sacrificed at the altar of epicness, he is one of the few guys that balances it all. The works of Christopher Nolan have also been incredibly influential. Authors like Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, Gillian Flynn, Chuck Palahniuk, Alan Moore and Salman Rushdie are people I look up to on a daily basis. I’ve also worked with some genius copywriters; people who I think are better than many published authors, and seeing them at close quarters has helped a lot.

What has the experience of having your own published book taught you? Has it changed you as a person?

Writing a novel and getting published is a really long and arduous process wrought with rejection. The whole process has definitely taught me the virtues of hanging in there without quitting when it seems the easiest thing to do.

Do you ever want to be a full-time author?

An author’s job is actually a very lonely one. You have to sit for hours in a dark room typing at a keyboard. I love working in an ad agency surrounded by interesting people. The process of making a TVC - coming up with a script, attending a shoot and then seeing it through to the post-production stage until it is approved - is really exciting to me. So I don’t think I’ll be quitting advertising to be a full-time author anytime soon.

As an author, what is the one dream you want to see fulfilled?

My ultimate dream would be for Michael Bay to direct the movie adaptation of my book. Fingers crossed!

Svaha can be ordered at: bit.ly/1nORK1l (Paperback) and http://bit.ly/1qc0sXw (Ebook)

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