Cesspool of crime

Like any other aspiring writer Vish Dhamija carried an idea with him for years, but it took a leg injury for him to get down to writing his first book Nothing Lasts Forever. He puts forth, “After penning down five to six chapters, I asked my wife for an opinion; she read it and her first reaction was, ‘Where did you copy it from?’”

Vish Dhamija has published three books since and has two in the pipeline — one a sequel to book Bhendi Bazaar. His latest book is Déja Karma, a legal psychological thriller layered with sub plots and parallel stories. Jay Singh, the protagonist, is the best defence lawyer in Delhi but is faced with a case that forces him to deal with his dark past as he tries to solve the case that threatens his career and life,” says Vish Dhamija.

A huge fan of the crime genre, Dhamija loves writing fast paced, edge of the seat thrillers. “I’ve always been drawn to the genre. When I started writing crime thrillers, people told me, ‘no one reads crime in India’ but I told them we’ve always read works of foreign authors like John Grisham, James Ellroy etc., just that no one was writing crime in India,” he says.

The author also confesses he’s a huge fan of the Tintin series. He says, “I’ve read all the comics and even have figurines of the characters. I keep going back to them to refresh my memory.”

'Déjà Karma by Vish Dhamija Rumour Books India Rs 199, pp. 256

Dhamija’s writing has even earned him the tag of ‘India’s John Grisham’. He says, “There are two sides to it. It feels good to be associated with John Grisham but with it also comes the burden of expectations. And that’s not limited to just one book. But I’m happy with the tag.”

He also stresses on the importance of research as an author, “It’s absolutely fundamental. Especially, when it comes to crime. You can’t create a situation that isn’t plausible or name a gun that doesn’t exist. Only 10 of 100 readers might notice a wrong fact but they’ll cry so hard and blow you out of water.”

Vish Dhamija pesters his brother-in-law who works in the police department among others to get his information correct apart from cross-checking online.

Writing is a passionate hobby for  Dhamija, who works as a full-time digital marketer in the UK. “I do most of my writing in the morning. I wake up around 5-5.30, put on some music (jazz, rock, Bob Dylan…) and scribble away till 8.30 on weekends.”

Ask him about writer’s block and he laughs, “I face a twitter block at times,” before continuing on a serious note, “I usually write in stretches. Some days, words just don’t flow but I don’t push myself. I just pick up a book and start reading. That’s also the best thing about being a writer; there’s no deadline. You work on your own time.”