Interview with Sanil Sachar

On world mental health day, I had a talk with the author who wrote about schizophrenia. one of the best read. ‘Rebound‘- it tells a lot about mental health.


About the author.

Sanil Sachar is a 24-year-old author from New Delhi. A writer who develops his work through real life incidents, Sanil is a firm believer that fiction is spurred by reality. A sports enthusiast, he is also an entrepreneur, a movie producer and a motivational speaker. An avid sportsperson, writing and Sanil met when he moved to England to pursue his goal towards football, while completing his schooling at Ackworth School. Ever since moving back to India, he has written books on poetry, short stories, scripts and a mystery novel. A method writer who lives vicariously through his characters, Sanil aims to live his life one word at a time. 

Connect with author: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

Interview:

1: What made you write a book on Schizophrenia?
– Schizophrenia is all around us, yet it is either not acknowledged or when it is, the perception of it is extremely cinematic and over the top. Through Rebound, readers get to experience the normality in which a schizophrenic can go through their day, despite the chaos and hardships they face. More importantly, it is a mystery novel infused with love, giving you a further insight into the life of Abhimanyu and those like him.
I stand by what is known to us – we are all one step away from schizophrenia.
2: In which genre you would write your book other than this Genre!
– I am eager to write a book based on the mafia. Preferably a romance based novel. While I have been approached with ideas and stories, nothing has caught my attention enough to spend more time to work on it. Definitely a book for tomorrow!
3: How long does it take you to write a book?

– You can’t ever put a time limit on writing a book because the inception of the book might be from one pivotal moment, but its development continues to take place, even way after the book is published! For me, I first encountered the story for Rebound two years ago and wrote, then re-wrote the first few chapters a few times, till it is now what meets the reader’s eyes. All three books of mine took very different time periods to be completed.
I might start the stopwatch on the book I am writing now, for you to get an exact answer!
                                                   
4: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
One passage that resonates with me is –
‘We all have two different definitions for life. One is the life we want to live for ourselves; the second is life we want to live for others. Making these two definitions come together is the real motive, aim and definition of life.’
As for a chapter, I don’t have a favorite but there are a few occurrences in their story that I personally love –
One is when Abhimanyu chooses to go back to the circus to give a shot at a life with a woman he knows nothing about, apart from the fact that he wants to know and be a part of her life.
He goes back to the life he hated for the prospect of love. For me this instance depicts love in its truest form, where we make comprises.
This in comparison to when he is at the bar, sitting alone yet caught up in between an argument between a vendor and his partner. At this moment he is alone and there is similarity in who he was prior to meeting Rose. How he wants to be a part of the story because like everyone always does, he to desires love and craves to be them or a part of their story to make up for the niche in his.
The only time he reaches a sense of normality is when Rose and Abhimanyu are leaving for holiday. The chaos in that moment is nothing to do with their personal lives. Here we can see that his room which was first just a space occupying a lost entity had become a home for two, infused with the smell of lavender and influenced by Abhimanyu’s love for Rose.
5: What inspires you to write?
– This is a hard question because I can’t single one reason out. To be able to create something that will live on beyond me, the work and even the initial thought of it, is an extremely exciting feeling. More importantly because how the thought lives on and is developed as an action by the reader is open to every reader’s perception.
6: what is success for you?
– It’s definitely a word that puts a lot of pressure on people. Everyone starts aiming for success before setting their base in what they do.
This term is put on a pedestal making it seem like the finish line we all have to reach.
For me, there is no finish line and being able to stay perseverant and to keep moving forward in your field of interest, is the closest I know as the definition.
7: How your life changed when you became an author?
– It’s the same, I’m still as excited, as hungry and as nervous with each word I write (and the hundred I cancel out).
8 Do you recall the first ever book/novel you read?
– As a child I read loads and loads of Archie comics! A Christmas carol by Charles Dickens was and remains a personal favorite I’d keep rereading.
9: You passion other than writing?
– For me it is my entrepreneurial ventures, apart from playing tennis, football and exercising each day. Writing is made possible only due to my involvement as an entrepreneur, through the various lives and stories I encounter, which is why I advise writers and even entrepreneurs to travel as much as they can and understand the key tool for the growth – perspective.
10: A Message for aspiring writers? 
– Write without questioning yourself but question yourself while editing. Love each word enough to erase it, for another more worthy word to take its place. Lastly, enjoy every single moment that is difficult through writing because what you are creating will stay beyond you and thus, this is not supposed to be “easy”.

Blog by Vidhya Thakkar

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