Pix: Rupinder Sharma

Back in the late 1990s, Delhi was a quiet place. The only ‘nightlife’ existed at the Safdarjung Hospital emer-gency ward. We used to hang out outside the hospital with a crate of beer — that was the only place which was lit at that time of the night! Overall, there was not much to do but sit at home and write books. There was mystery, magic and com-plete ‘unexcitement’. On the whole, the psycho-geographic atmosphere of the city was one that evoked the imagination. That’s when my first graphic novel, Corridor, happened.

Somehow ‘turning poi-nts’ always seem to be glamorous moments for glamorous people. My life is like a dull toothache, and one hopes that it never peaks and gives you a nasty surprise! Though I must say that my first graphic novel Corridor (2004) did enjoy its share of high-profile attention. And it was after this success that I went to Goldsmiths, University of London, to study image and communication. Corridor was a success in that it brought in local idiom into an otherwise serious, gassy world of literature.

My next novel, The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers (2007), set in 18th century Calcutta, got mixed reviews. And finally came Harappa Files (2011). This was another turning point because with this one I directed a strict gaze into the graphic novel genre. Graphic novels have become fashionable now but the form hasn’t been re-invented. And by that time I’d developed a certain rakishness. So I ignored what everyone else was saying and set my own parameters. My inspiration was works like Akbarnama and Baburnama. So The Harappa Files is contemporary and yet it’s a continuity of a traditional form of story-telling. This book was like a coming of age for me.

I’m also an independent filmmaker and years ago, made documentaries. In fact, my novels happened because I was a bad filmmaker! My last work was 1943, an animation film about the Bengal famine that I made in 2007. I’d like to make a Bengali feature film in the future — a film noir set in Calcutta, which actually is the most noir-ish city I know. That would be something!

(As told to Angona Paul)