There Might Be an Asterisk Involved: Not Another Chick Lit

Another ‘chick-lit’ by an Indian author? I was a little sceptical when I picked up There May Be an Asterisk Involved by Vedashree Khambete but as the blurb on the back cover reassured me, it was much more.

The story revolves around Ira Bhat, an overworked copywriter at J. McCarthy, (one of the best advertising agencies in the country) who strives to make it big in her advertising stint while battling against the barmy, bizarre perils and pitfalls of having to deal with “comma obsessed clients, award obsessed bosses, obnoxious marketing executives, high-strung creative types, impossible deadlines, obscure briefs, fiercely competitive colleagues, death of many a big idea…” While the oh-so-mushy romance does eventually blossom, it does not take to the centre stage of the novel (it is more of a personal diary). The author keeps you glued to the book by her simple way of portraying the eccentricities of what appears to be a glamorous profession aided with a subtle yet sharp touch of humour. The wacky footnotes clarifying jargons used by the ad professionals add to the feel-good reading experience.

Quick fire interview with Vedashree Khambete

Blogger, copywriter, journalist, author – in what order do you identify with them?

I guess it’d have to be author-blogger-copywriter-journalist. Though journalist might be stretching it at this point – I don’t seem to have any objectivity of any kind.

What was the craziest situation you encountered as a copywriter?

There was this radio spot we recorded a while ago. The budget wasn’t much, so my then-boss was playing one of the characters. The script had a line about how his character had a small penis. Somehow he couldn’t get the line right and had to take lots of re-takes. So basically, at 1 o’clock in the night, I was sitting in a recording studio, with my boss saying “My penis is so small” over and over and over again. Definitely one of the craziest moments of my career. Or life.

You have juxtaposed two contrasting characters, Ira (the witty, blunt, practical tomboy) and Aditi (the stereotypical Indian girl). Which of these is more like you?

I suppose I’m more like Ira – witty, blunt, practical (also, MODEST, clearly). But a lot of Aditi’s concerns are those of every Indian girl, so on some level, very deep down, beyond the reach of psychoanalysts, I guess I’m a bit of an Aditi as well.

Who is your favourite Indian author?

I’m going to stretch ‘Indian author’ to include ‘authors of Indian origin’ and say Salman Rushdie. If I ever run into him, I’ll be like a Rolling Stones fan in the presence of Mick Jagger. There will be giggling.

What inspired you to write this book ?

Advertising, by its very nature, attracts all kinds of lunatics. So by extension, a lot of madness goes on in ad agencies. After the fiftieth instance of saying to myself, “Someone should write about this stuff!” I decided that maybe I should.

Are you already working on your next book? Can you tell us something about it?

There are a few ideas I’m toying with, but it’s too soon to actually talk about them. Basically, I need to get off my rear and start writing.

-Darshana Krishnamony