Bengaluru: Author Suman Dubey launches 'The Fixer'

Bengaluru: Offering ardent cricket fans and readers of fiction a fascinating account of the gentleman's game, author Suman Dubey launched his debut book 'The Fixer' on Friday.

The book which narrates a gripping story of 40-year-old failed cricketer Neil Upadhyay was launched by renowned filmmaker Imtiaz Ali in a candid Facebook live conversation with RJ Stutee Ghosh.

The evening began with Suman and Imtiaz reminiscing their formative years in Jamshedpur -- attending the same school, where sports governed most of their growing-up years.

As the discussion progressed, Ali also revealed his fondness for cricket and basketball. He recalled how he wanted to either play basketball or do theatre while growing up. He chose theatre and ended up where he is now.

If he had chosen the former, he would have retired years ago, when in real life he was just starting off as a filmmaker. He is glad that Suman chose this dramatic aspect in a sportsman's life and explored it in his book.

They further delved into the process of writing and character sketching wherein Suman stressed on the need to give in to the character while writing and let the story unfold by itself.

Speaking about screenwriting and storytelling, Ali said, "In my experience of writing, sometimes the characters become so real that the direction of the story is entirely shaped by them making me feel as if I was just a typist.

In such situations, as suggested by Suman, all you need to do is 'surrender' and let the characters lead the story. The novel is always bigger than the novelist. The story is always bigger than a storyteller. The film is always bigger than the director. We just need to get out of the way and let the story evolve on its own."

Discussing the experience of writing and character sketching, Dubey said, "I never intended to write a book about match fixing. I started off writing about a failed cricketer who is desperate for creating a legacy in the sport and used real life observations and experiences to shape the character. However, as the story progressed, the match-fixing angle arrived as a natural progression of the complications in the story."

He added, "When I build a character, I first set up the character's story goal, and then put obstacles in their path. These obstacles are both external and internal. The wounds this character carries from his past and the lies that have originated from those wounds shape the way the story builds up."

Published by Rupa Publications, 'The Fixer' is a thrilling tale of an ex-cricketer who finds himself up against the wall when family business takes an unfortunate turn. The dark side of sports, crime and power dominate the plot of this book.