The Rise of Sivagami
Author - Anand Neelakantan
Publisher - Westland, Rs 299
Bahubali is a modern-day epic, author Anand Neelakantan tells AKSHITA RAWAT as he shares more about his prequel to Bahubali, The Rise of Sivagami
Based on the character of Sivagami, Anand Neelakantan’s The Rise of Sivagami sets out to tell the story prior to the beginning of Bahubali, the movie series. Only Katappa and Sivagami from the movie world are seen in the novel, the rest of the characters are the creation of the imagination of the author. We get to know the characters better in this novel and may finally see the seeds of the reason behind the killing of Bahubali. In an interaction, the author tells us more.
Why did you write a prequel about Sivagami, and not BahubaliIJ
The story is set 30 years ago, when Bahubali was not even born. The plan is to make a television series based on the novel, like lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. So, the story had to be different for the readers to enjoy it.
You have mostly written about the villain characters and their perspective. How did you manage to centre this novel on a positive oneIJ
I have written many screenplays like that of Siya Ke Ram. Because of my previous novel, it must seem that I write more about the villain character’s perspective. I love my villains very much, which the readers will see in this novel as well. However, I work according to the task I have been given. I created many characters for this book, some heroes and some villains. The book is not only about Sivagami’s character but her perspective is important.
“Why did Katappa kill BahubaliIJ” It was almost a national headline. Does this novel lead us to the answerIJ
The killing is supposed to happen 30 years after the novel’s time. Katappa is only 20 years’ old in the novel, but the reader will get to see the psychology behind the killing and how Katappa grew to be the man capable of killing Bahubali. It is not just a simple ‘why’ to the question but a big ‘why’ which the novel focuses on.
Usually in India, and elsewhere, movies are made based on novels and not the other way around. Did you feel at risk while writing this subversive prequelIJ
Bahubali is a modern day epic and I am fortunate to be a part of this story-world building. Someday, perhaps it can become an epic like Mahabharata because very few epics have been popular in India. We are too close to Bahubali’s time to understand the significance of such an epic. But, it is a big event in history to have a modern day epic like Bahubali, and have a novel made on it.
The prequel released just before the second part of the movie series was set to release in theatres. Is there a reason behind itIJ
This is because we wanted the people to know about the characters and their psychology before the release of the movie, so that they can enjoy the movie more and vice-versa.
Most of the characters are built from scratch in this novel. How difficult was it to make new characters for an already establish fictional worldIJ
This is the most fascinating thing about the novel. If the assignment would have been to write a novel only about the film, perhaps it would not have excited me as a writer. But here I get to create new characters, and expanded my dimensions which gave me a privilege to be a part of this family.
How different is it to write a novel based on an already established cult movie from writing a reinterpretation of classical texts, since you have tried both nowIJ
In writing reinterpretations of texts, you need a lot of research which you cannot write in a hundred days like with this novel. There, more logic is needed to write the novel and less imagination. The only imagination needed is in seeing how I can interpret historical myths. I could not change history or events while writing Asura, but here more of imagination is used than history. For example, 70-80 per cent of imagination is needed in writing a novel like this and 20 per cent research. We can say, this is like playing a T-20 match and writing a novel like Asura was a test cricket match!
Bahubali movie series is mythical but also connects to the viewer at a realistic level. Does the book also follow the same linesIJ
It has to. My novel, if you see, is a story about India. Mahishmati is nothing but India. It is a very mythical story but a very contemporary one too. I think all good books should attempt to do that.
Will the next novel series concentrate on Sivagami only or will Bahubali come into the picture tooIJ
Sivagami is just the central character. A lot of new strong characters have been created and they will continue to be in the next series. By the time we reach the third novel of the series, many characters from the movie family will also make an entry in the novel world.
