There’s much more that I want to do, says Shashi Tharoor

Parliamentarian, academic and writer Shashi Tharoor is now actively involved in an ambitious multi-lingual web series based on his much lauded book Why I Am A Hindu.

Tharoor says he agreed to the web series because he believed in the producer. “When (producer) Sheetal Talwar came to me, I liked his conviction. He made no tall promises, but he assured me that the essence of my book would be captured in the series. I have not read the screenplay yet, but I’m confident that it will do justice,” says Tharoor.

He adds, “There are many misconceptions about Hinduism in the current times and I want my thoughts to reach out to a wider public than the one afforded by a book. It is important to me.”

Interestingly, Tharoor, who deals simultaneously with his parliamentarian duties, has authored a large volume of fictional and non-fictional works. “If we include the book that is coming out in the next few months, it adds up to 17 books,” shares Tharoor, who adds, “I’ve various other duties and obligations, including an ongoing legal battle to prove my innocence in a case where I’m being made out to be a person that I am not.”

Shashi Tharoor in action from the sets.

Cinema is one of the pleasures that he has forfeited in the pursuit of his other interests. Says Tharoor, “In the past few years, my work as a parliamentarian and my writings have occupied a large part of my time. Then there are various other imperative pursuits. For these, I’ve given up many pleasures including cinema and cricket. But there is no regret over these losses.”

Further, he is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously. “I cannot be a rubberstamp politician. Politics is a tool for me to try and improve the status quo to the best of my abilities. Likewise, my writing,” says the Member of Parliament, whose next book on the four years of Narendra Modi’s government is all set for publication. Being known to be a voice of dissent, does the author-politician foresee controversy over his new book?

He replies gently, “Not from the readers. However, I can’t predict how the government in power would react to the book. Nowadays, any hint of dissent is frowned upon by the government, and any criticism of the government’s policies, no matter how healthy and just, is taken as an attack on individuals who run the government. This was not the case when we, the Congress were in power. Criticism of the government was in fact, encouraged then. Now when we are in the Opposition, the rules have changed.”

Even Tharoor’s tweets are perceived as works of art, carved and polished with the most chiseled words.

Taking the compliment graciously, he says, “The truth is, I don’t toil over the tweets. The medium demands brevity and one has to say things in the shortest possible way.”

Meanwhile, with the ongoing case against him, Tharoor admits that the bandwidth of his creativity has somewhat shrunk. “There is much more that I want to do. But current circumstances restrain me from expressing myself fully. The one reassurance in this whole situation is that the people I meet do not seem to believe what I am being accused of. Wherever I go, I am met with the same warmth and goodwill that I experienced before,” he concludes.

Costliest web series ever!

Producer Sheetal Talwar has reportedly set aside a whopping `130 crores to ensure that the web series adapted from Tharoor’s book covers every possible detail. “We want it to be a one-stop visual reference point for youngsters seeking lucid, truthful answers on our religion, especially when so much is being said about Hinduism being hijacked by vested elements,” says Talwar.
The series will be in two languages — Hindi and English and will be helmed by three major directors (names like Shoojit Sircar and Hansal Mehta are being shortlisted). The English version will be narrated by Tharoor himself while the Hindi version is likely to have a running commentary by Shatrughan Sinha.
Buzz is that Talwar bought the book from Tharoor at a price that no film adaptation in India has ever afforded. However, without revealing the details, Talwar says, “We are into this because we care for Hinduism. The series will take the invaluable thoughts in the book to the widest possible viewership.”