What do teens read?

Anuradha Varma, TNN, Oct 24, 2010

Indian teens are hooked to Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter and the Twilight series, but are reluctant to explore Indian authors.

LAST year, 15-year-old Ritisha Mishra from Kolkata launched an online petition to have the film version of New Moon released in India, attracting over 1,700 signatures. The fan of authors JK Rowling, Paulo Coelho and Dan Brown was thrilled when it worked!

Indian teens, reluctant to try Indian authors, are hooked to titles from the West, which include chick-lit, teen sorceror Harry Potter and the now 'cult' Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, where a young girl falls in love with a vampire.

Teen anguish and dysfunctional personalities have worked in the past too, when Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfied captured American imagination, having sold over 60 million copies worldwide since. More recently, it was teenage sorcerer Harry Potter that teens queued up to read about outside bookstores.

What makes young adults read? While many grow up on fairytales and epics, they quickly graduate to popular fiction. Like 15-year-old Ankit Jain, who has sampled Sherlock Holmes and Huckleberry Finn and moved on to Chetan Bhagat's One Night @ The Call Centre and 2 States. Adds 12-year-old Soniksha Venkatesh, "I like reading vampirebased novels, like The Twilight Saga and House Of Night. The story is fascinating and gets very exciting as it unfolds." She hasn't tried any Indian authors yet.

Indian writers have tried to cater to the teen mindset too, but have had limited success. A couple of years ago, Shobhaa De commented when she launched S's Secret, "Clothes and what to wear is a constant battle. And of course, there are crushes and heartbreak." Salman Rushdie, who recently released Luka and the Fire of Life, was quoted in an interview as saying that children like dark stories and characters. "There's a 'Death' character in Luka, Nobodaddy, that I was concerned about. Milan (his son) wanted more of him."

Madhulika Liddle, author of The Englishman's Cameo, a detective novel set in the Mughal India of 1656 for ages 18 and above, says, "Fantasy stories made popular by writers like JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, P Kerr, Cornelia Funke, etc, seem to be extremely popular. Some Indian writers are edging towards that territory, for instance, Geeti Chandra's Summoning of the Fang. The range of literature open to children is much wider and more diverse today."

Samit Basu, author of Terror on the Titanic, set in 1912 and an adventure of The Morningstar Agency, starring a young Anglo-Indian man who can speak to animals, says, "In my head, I wasn't writing a book for children. A good book appeals to all ages."

What should Indian writers be aiming at when penning plots for teens? Author Subhadra Sengupta believes the books must address the issues that concern them. For her Foxy Four myst e r y series, she dealt with drugs in the first book and with religious tolerance in the second. She explains, "What works is a good plot and great writing. Ruskin Bond has never done vampires but kids adore his books."

She herself grew up reading "fabulous Bengali children's books and have taught myself to write by studying them. There is wonderful writing in Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, I just wish someone would translate them."

Sonja Chandrachud, hailed as the Desi Rowling with her The Pearls of Wisdom — A Hilarious Hauntings Adventure which teems with eccentric vampires, nagas, wizards, djinns and witches, analyses, "The appeal of fantasy is by far stronger as it allows the reader to explore realms, issues and beliefs that are otherwise taboo...vampirism, witchcraft, sorcery and magic figure prominently as they have and will forever fascinate mankind."

However, we have a long way to go before we can catch up with the West in terms of popularity. Says Tapas Guha, illustrator of Satyajit Ray's Feluda Mysteries in comic book form, "Give teenagers interesting plots with great narratives, they'll lap it up. Also, people here love to ape the West...if the West likes it, we have to as well! Unfortunately, in India, nothing dynamic is happening in children's literature. That's why we are still stuck with revisiting the epics."

Series also do well with kids. According to Crosswords bookstore, the books most popular among teens are the series on Twilight, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl, Princess Diaries, House Of Night, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, Spook's Apprentice, Pretty Little Liars and the Bartimaeus Trilogy.

Adds Sivaraman Balakrishnan, manager - marketing, Crossword, "There's a surge in demand for fantasy, magic, supernatural story-based books. But along comes a series like Diary of A Wimpy Kid which documents a teenage boy's adventures in school. Overall, a good children's book is c h a ra c - terised by its richness in characters, writing styles and tones."

Books from the West also enjoy benefits of marketing, often accompanied by film tie-ins. Points out Subhadra, "The children's books scene is buzzing. Indian authors are as good as those in the West plus they talk about India. They just need to be promoted the way the West does it."

Says Siddhartha Sarma, who won the Vodafone Crossword Book Award for children's books for The Grasshopper's Run, "A fantasy novel is the surest way to get teens to read you. But historical fiction does generate interest, such as books by Geraldine McCaughrean. Children do seem to prefer authors from other countries. I suppose publicity makes a lot of difference. It will take some time for young adults today to reach beyond Harry Potter and Twilight and do some experimenting on their own."

It's time for authors to churn the plot and create some memorable characters!

Have your teens read these books?
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez
Dreamland by Sarah Dressen
The Haunting of Hiram by Eva Ibbotson
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Beast with Nine Billion Feet by Anil Menon
The Magic Store of Nu- Cham Vu by Shreekumar Varma

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/parenting/What-do-teens-read/articleshow/6802571.cms

What makes Rajinikanth the Boss?

Anuradha Varma, TNN, Oct 17, 2010

When Salman Khan did his turn as Chulbul Pandey in Dabanng, he was hailed as North India's Rajinikanth... till the real star decided to stand up and be counted.

And, how! His film Robot (Endhiran) released with an unheard of 2,000 prints worldwide at a Rs 160-crore budget and made Rs 950 million in the opening weekend.


Remarks trade analyst Taran Adarsh, "Rajinikanth is the ultimate star of the masses. It's not as if he's unaware of his stardom but he's warm, friendly and down-to-earth when you meet him. His humility shines through and this is what his fans pick up on."

In the South, which is given to hero worshipping its stars, the actor's larger-than-life persona is comparable only to MG Ramachandran, with his good guy image transcending from reel to real life. Analyses Tamil film writer Gnani Sankaran, "When MGR and Sivaji Ganesan vacated the film scene in late Seventies, Kamal moulded himself after Sivaji, who played unusual roles. Rajini fashioned himself after MGR, playing the do-gooder, Superman hero, protector of women and family values." He adds, "Tamilians have always been involved with the personality cult, since the days of the freedom movement. The personality cult is vital both in politics and cinema for commercial success. Here, the two are married!"

While onscreen, the 'Boss' (Thalaivar) Rajinikanth can split a bullet into two to kill villains, in real life, stands a man who greets guests to his daughter's wedding personally, accompanied by his wife. He could be the elderly, balding, dhoticlad father-next-door. As filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma tweeted, "A star requires great looks, good height, versatile acting, six-pack body, etc. And if one has none of the above he will become superstar Rajini."

Chennai-based film historian Theodore Baskaran believes Tamilians are prone to hero worship, from religious icons to politicians and actors. He, however, doesn't approve of the hype over Rajinikanth. According to him, MGR was the biggest star ever, as his loyal fan base translated into a strong constituency of votes too. "Rajinikanth's fans love him for what he portrays on screen."

However, that doesn't stop fans from turning out at 4 am to catch the first show of Rajinikanth's film, bathing his cutouts with milk, even beer and cola. A fan said on his object of worship, "He is not like any other actor. His biggest movie is out today and he is a superstar, but I am sure he is sitting at home calmly, without even caring to shave his beard. Such is his simplicity."

When Robot released, tongue-incheek sms-es went out proclaiming, "Robot released today. Rajinikanth gave The Times of India four stars." But, for the actor, his simplicity remains his calling card. Starting life as a bus conductor in Bangalore, Rajnikanth, who was born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, is the son of Maharashtrian parents. His friend of over 40 years, Raj Bahadur and bus driver of Bangalore's Srinagara to Majestick route, on which the actor was the bus conductor, recalled in an interview, "Shivaji is compassionate and helpful. I have seen him getting out of his car if he sees an old person on the street and give him thousands of rupees. He does all that silently without anyone knowing."

California-based Kamla Bhatt, who hosts an online radio show, analyses the phenomenon, "He always identifies with the underdog and that is a winning formula in Tamil films."

No wonder that he is being hailed as the biggest Asian star after Jackie Chan, particularly after he was paid Rs 26 crore for Sivaji, the Boss. Bachchan, Rajini's co-star of Andha Kanoon, Giraftar and Hum, has generously accepted that the nature of Rajini's fans is incomparable. It's the nature of the fans, he believes, that creates the phenomenon that is Rajinikanth. Adds DT Cinemas director and business head Anant Verma, "His fans make every movie a hit. In North India, you don't have fans who watch a star's movie 15 times, unlike in the South. The fan loyalty is way beyond that for any Bollywood star, including Shah Rukh Khan."

This was also the man who was rejected for marriage as the girl found him "dark, plump and not good looking". As Gayathri Srikanth, ophthalmologist-turned-Rajini biographer said, "He grew up motherless, and had a very bad childhood. Later on, he had to work as a coolie, then a bus conductor and lastly became the superstar. How many people have the guts to come out and say that they have had a nervous break down, had many vices, etc? Not many own up their mistakes, but this man does."

It's this vulnerability that probably connects him to his fans too!

Famous Rajinikanth-isms:
Rajinikanth's larger-than-life persona has given rise to many good-hearted jokes around the man ...

Rajinikanth once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants are today called giraffes.

Rajinikanth once ordered a plate of idli in McDonald's, and got it.

Rajinikanth leaves messages before the beep.

Rajinikant is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.

Rajinikant doesn't wear a watch. He decides what time it is.

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/What-makes-Rajinikanth-the-Boss/articleshow/6762996.cms