Author and screenwriter Durjoy Datta is as famous for his books as he is for his dimples and looks. All of his books, about 15, have been bestsellers. Girls swoon not only over his romantic characters but also Datta himself. And having given readers love stories to live by, he’s living his own love story with wife Avantika.He proposed to his then-girlfriend on Twitter.
Related reading: Love doesn’t always strike; it may just tweet
The two are happily married now and are expecting their first child in July. Durjoy is busy promoting his latest book, The Boy Who Loved, but took time out to answer our questions.
It’s easy to fall in love but do you think it’s easier to write on love? Why or why not? What are the challenges?
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It’s easier to fall in love. It just happens to you and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s definitely harder to write about love. And that’s because you know the characters of your own love story well. Secondly, you need to make a lot of people (readers) fall in love with those two characters… to invest in their love story, and that’s the hardest part. If they like the characters, they will like everything that the two do as well, so a lot depends on how successful you are at making people fall in love with them.
Nothing else lasts as long as love. And even the shortest love stories can be blindingly passionate.
How are real and imagined (books, TV shows, movies) romance different?
I don’t think they’re different at all. All that the book or television does is edit out the boring parts.
Your proposal to your wife Avantika, who was your girlfriend then, on Twitter got talked about a lot. It’s what mushy romantic novels are made of! However, what if she had said no, did you think about that?
It happened a week before our planned wedding! It was more a gesture than anything else. The odds were heavily in my favour!
Now you two are expecting your first baby. And your babymoon pictures are so adorable. We think you are the perfect guy to answer the question: What does it take to keep the flame alive, even after marriage?
Every couple is different and I don’t think one size fits all.
What works for us might not work for others. But I do know that you need to continue to have fun to have a relationship going.
Related reading: Seven things that keep a relationship going
It has been like a really long date for the two of us. I do think that we have become more clingy, though.
How excited or nervous are you about parenthood?
Well, truth be told: I’m mostly nervous. I already feel sorry for the child to have careless parents like us. The name-business is still going on. Either names are too Sanskritised or too common. I thought it would be easier but it isn’t, at all!
Tell us a little about your latest book, The Boy Who Loved, which is already topping the bestseller list.
The book is the first part of a family-drama, which is a coming-of-age story of a boy who is trying to form his ideas about love, family, religion and nation.
Where do you get the inspiration to write such romantic novels? Also, who comes up with the interesting titles?
The names of my books are mostly from my editor. The inspiration to write the story is usually a certain dominant trait in a character, and the rest of the story is built around it.
