Interview with Madhuri Banerjee: 

(This interview was held on 12th October, 2014, during Litomania Festival in Mumbai by Madhurima Halder. This interview has been published in Whatzupp Kolkata magazine.)

Madhuri Banerjee is a national best selling author from Mumbai. She is the director of a creative production house. Being a media professional she has even worked as a senior assisstant director for film makers like Subhash Ghai, Rohan Sippy and Kaizad Gustad. Her thesis film BETWEEN DUALITIES won her the National Award for the best documentary on women's issues in 1999. Above all she is also a mother, an active blogger and the face of Revlon as their relationship expert.
Here we present before you another strong contending women writing for and about girls and women in today's world.

With Madhuri Banerjee in Mumbai.

• Madhurima: Well, starting with the interview, I would love to ask you from your childhood. How was your childhood like? Did you plan it from your childhood itself that you would write one day? Can you share some cherishing memories?

     

       Madhuri: Yes, Madhurima I always thought that I would be writing from my childhood because I had a grandfather who was always into philosophy and whenever I used to go for any vacations he gave me a diary and asked me to always write in that. He was the one who always encouraged me to write a bit. Writing served a very good purpose during my teenage years as well as whenever I felt any kind of angst during those days I used to immediately write it down. And I was quite an ugly child, so (laughs) writing somewhat saved me. 

• Madhurima: After writing so many books, did you ever think that you will get a chance to write the screenplay for Hate Story 2?

     Madhuri: I have been into this industry for a long time. I have worked with directors like Kaizad Gustad, Subhash Ghai and Rohan Sippy. Meanwhile, I have been also writing my scripts. Even I directed my own documentaries. After writing books I got this oppurtunity to write for Vikram Bhatt in Hate Story 2. I really loved the idea of writing this because novel is a different medium, my blogs are very different and even my tweets are different. So I am very thankful to God for it. That's all.

• Madhurima: Congratulations once again for it. Your latest book is Scandalous Housewives Mumbai, so tell us something about that book?

     Madhuri: Scandalous Housewives Mumbai is the story of four women who live in a high rise building in Mumbai. Every evening they come down for a walk, gossips, eat together like most of the housewives in Mumbai do. But each one of them holds deep dark secrets in their life. One day an email comes round which reveals their deep dark secrets and the fabric of their relationship is kind of torn apart. This story is all about these women dealing with their maids, in laws,friends, husbands , depression and at the end of the day as sexual escapists. Then in the end how they find romance is all that the book revolves around.

• Madhurima: Well we have talked a lot about books...in this 21st century don't you find a kind of competition in this writing industry?

      Madhuri: Did you see the Litomania Session? Preeti Shenoy, Ravinder Singh are all close friends to me. Ravinder somewhat sells around 1.5 million copies and Preeti far more books than I do. So I don't really have a competition with them. Well, if others are with me then I don't know what to say.

• Madhurima: What particularly did inspire you to write? 
•      Madhuri: You just have to be an observer of life. Keep your eyes open...and you will get numerous ideas to write on. 

• Madhurima: At last at the end of this interview tell any one message for your Kolkata readers!

      Madhuri: Ektai kotha bolbo, ami November mashe jodi Kolkata jai tahole tomra sobai amake nolen gurer swandesh khaoabe please! ( laughs heartily)