'There is hardly any boy who thinks he can jump from a high rise building and bash up 50 people. I really wanted people to believe it. That was the starting of my **** up.'
Aarya Babbar gets very, very, candid.
Aarya Babbar may not have got much attention in his acting career, or even from his stint on Bigg Boss 8.
But his debut book has got everyone talking.
It's probably because of the title: My Fiancee, Me & #I Fu**ed Up. Yes, his pa, actor-Congress politician Raj Babbar, has a 'concern' with it.
Aarya tells Rajul Hegde/Rediff.com about how **** ups inspired his book.
What's the book about?
It's not a love story, but a ****ed up story. I'm trying to create a new genre called '****ed up'.
It's a fictional book on love, life and relationships.
I have taken inspiration from people around me who have had ****up moments in life and penned it down.
Rushabh Shah is a simple Gujarati guy madly in love with a girl and they decide to get married.
How he screws things up in the last week leading up to the marriage is the core of the story.
People will connect and understand how love happens and at the same time how it gets messed up.
Could you talk about the, well, **** ups as you call them, in your life?
I acted in my first film at the age of 19. There is hardly any boy who thinks he can jump from a high rise building and bash up 50 people.
I really wanted people to believe it. That was the starting of my **** up.
Another one would be when I got engaged and later the girl and I decided to call if off just three months before the wedding.;
And you must have watched the recent **** ups on Bigg Boss 8.
How did your parents react to the book, especially the title?
My father loved the book though the title is a concern for him. He was surprised; he didn't expect me to tackle sensitive issues and saw a mature side to my writing.
Who inspired you to write the book?
I always liked to write. I wrote my first poem when I was eight.
I think writing just stayed with me because I grew up with literature all around me (Editor's note: Aarya's maternal grandfather Sajjad Zaheer, his mother Nadira Zaheer Babbar's father, was a celebrated Urdu novelist).
How long did you take to write the book?
I started to write it last year, although I had the plot in mind since 2012.
In January 2014, I was down with jaundice and was bed-ridden for three-and-a-half months.
I finished the book in April. A friend put me through to Penguin India and within a week, I was signed on.
Why did you use SMS language in the book?
This book is for the mobile generation. They think and write in SMS language, so why not write a book for them in SMS language?
Seventy per cent of the book is in SMS language and the rest in normal English.
What's the feedback from readers?
Youngsters, who are connecting with me on social media, love it.
They say we never liked you as an actor, but love you as an author.
