Interview with Aditi Mediratta & Michaela Talwar Author of “Naked”

Aditi Mediratta started her writing career as a crime reporter for the India Today daily, Today. She has worked as an associate writer for films like Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, The Dirty Picture, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai 2, Azhar, etc. She has also co-authored a book, The Stranger in Me (2019).

Michaela Talwar is the co-founder and creative director at Harkat Studios. She also leads the creation of marketing video content for various film studios and OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon, and has also co-produced several short films.

Frontlist: Aditi, given your previous experience as a crime reporter, did any particular incident or report you covered during that time serve as a source of inspiration for your writing, or did it impact the development of any character in your book?

Aditi: I honestly cannot look back to any one incident, but I think the time I spent at police stations, hanging out with the cops, and especially having chai played into my subconscious while writing those bits. 

It’s weird, but even now, if I ever have to visit a police station or pass by one, I feel like I can almost smell the tea I feel like everybody keeps having. Of course, the characters were created by my Cowriter and me, but as a reporter, I had rather pleasant experiences with the cops, and maybe that’s why there is so much humanity in Gaikwad and Sahil. They are not jerks.

Frontlist: Aditi and Michaela, we are curious to know how you first met and decided to collaborate on this book. Could you share your experiences of working together? 

Aditi: We were introduced by Michaela’s husband, Karan. Karan and I dated what now seems a long time ago and surprisingly stayed friends. So when Michaela moved to India, he thought the two of us should meet. Luckily for him, we got along great - it seems he has a type. Haha. 

Michaela: We ended up talking a lot about work, me as a producer and director and Aditi as a screenwriter, and we got to value each other’s quirks. Aditi is a little crazy and, let’s say, pretty unapologetic. We realized that makes a great combination. 

Aditi: I don’t remember how it started, but I have been sharing my writings with Michaela for a long time for feedback. She is not only insightful but also brutally honest. She does not mince words, which, once you develop a thicker skin, is excellent for improving your writing quality. 

Michaela: Mostly on the level of basic grammar and commas! No, jokes aside, I had never read anything like her writing and vibed so much with it. I want to see every one of her stories see the light of day. She’s so unique. And I felt like, finally, someone thinks the way I’d like to believe but never dared - I’m a sucker for rules and structure. I try not to interfere with her stories but give just my suggestions. But when she shared the first draft of “Naked” with me, which was one one-pager idea, my fingers just started typing these pages, and it flowed so naturally.

Aditi: I loved what she had done to the idea, so we sat and discussed and decided to take this ahead without knowing where it would lead us.

Michaela: That it would become a novel only struck us when we were already knee-deep in the story. I think every story finds its medium, and the intricacies of the characters, what they feel when they see, could only be expressed in a book form.

Frontlist: What led you to select the title "Naked" for your book? Do you believe the combination of the title and the cover design effectively captures readers' attention and helps your book stand out in the literary landscape? 

Aditi: This was supposed to be a working title since the protagonist is literally and metaphorically into ‘nakedness’. She aspires to have no filter with her thoughts and emotions, and somehow, in the course of the writing, we discovered that unclothed thoughts and words can be even more shocking than just not wearing clothes. 

Michaela: The human body has been pleasingly captured in art for ages. It can be quite aesthetic, but our emotions are still shockingly ugly. So, the title fit to keep us on track while writing. 

Aditi: Post that, we assumed the publishers would want to change it, and there were a few other options bandied about, but really, nothing fit as well. 

Michaela: Our editor, Shantanu, insisted that we keep this title because he understood what we were trying to say.

Aditi: Same with the cover, this was the most apparent, almost obligatory choice, and we tried others that were subtler or even misleading, but it feels like the book knew what it wanted to be called and how it wanted to be looked. Hopefully, it is standing out.

Michaela: It definitely catches the eye, but unfortunately, we have had instances where people have been awkward while displaying the book, even in their homes. Somebody told us that his maid keeps turning the book on its back because the cover makes her uncomfortable. Another reader said they covered it with a newspaper while reading in transit. So, it’s a delicate balance between drawing attention and dealing with our book being judged by its cover. 

Frontlist: How did you go about making the murder mystery plot in "Naked" unique, given that murder mystery plots can often follow familiar patterns? What innovative approaches or elements did you introduce to set your story apart from the typical murder mystery?

Aditi: Well, we wanted to tell the tale of Chinky, and the murder is more a device for its telling than a book about a murder. 
So, in that sense, it always had a different pattern to follow. 

Frontlist: Did you decide to structure the book's plot by exploring complex themes, such as relationships, love, self-discovery, and spirituality, to provide readers with a thought-provoking experience? How did these themes shape the narrative and character development in the story?

Michaela: Contrary to what you might be taught in any literary course, we did not decide the structure beforehand. We just let the narrative flow; the more we wrote, the more we understood what drives the characters. At the outset, we knew them and their primary quest in life as well as the impact that Chinky had on them, but only once we had written down their story did the structure sort of stand out. Then we chiseled on that structure, made it more pronounced, and made sure we had regular anchor points so it’s both a mosaic and a complete picture that is easy to follow. This way, it feels more natural, like life really is. An intense spiritual moment is followed by a rattling city-life incident that leads you to think about love and life. Then again, you are interrupted by work only to end the day with the comfort of a good conversation, music, and the cozy feeling of true friendship. All the characters are real people with real issues, but they are somehow protected by the magic of Chinky and hence can express this realness. The book aims to normalize a lot of conversations about queerness, bossgirls, insanity, and magic.

Frontlist: The main character in the book uses the line, "One human life does not decide what your soul calls home." Could you explain the meaning behind this statement and how it contributes to the overall plot and themes of the book? How does this line resonate with the narrative and the characters' journeys?

Aditi: Well, the way the line resonated in our subconscious was that even though we are both not from Mumbai, I am from Delhi, and Michaela is from Germany, we both felt right at home here. It was instant. More so than I have ever thought it, Delhi, even though I had lived there all my life up to that point. So maybe even though my physical body had a home, my soul had a different one. It is the same, she steps into Mumbai, and it’s an instant feeling of homecoming. She feels a sense of familiarity and love for a place she has never visited. Abhishek is the opposite; all he wants to do is leave. His reaction is equally vital. This is not his home. And Vincent is still searching, and like a homeless soul, he is constantly uncomfortable wherever he is.

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