Deepti Naval

What led to The Mad Tibetin?

I have been writing for a few years but the notes were just floating around. When my publisher read one story, she wanted 12! So I started writing, revisited story ideas, rewriting....

You act, paint, write, photograph. Does one act feed off the other?

They are interconnected. For example, a painting I had done didn’t convey my feelings fully, so I wrote a poem. My sensibility tends to get reflected in all mediums I use.

Which of them is like unwinding for you?

I love acting, yet, sometimes feel I become a tool in projecting the writer/director’s ideas. It’s through writing that I convey who I am.

What inspires you to write?

Things happening around me, my experiences and thoughts. Things that touch me and make an impact.

You feature in this book as well. Is the story real?

Yes, it is. It has the ambience of the time, of Delhi’s busy Connaught Place, and a time when Chashme Baddoor was just out and I was a star!

As a writer, do you have any quirks?

I used to worry about how my desk looked, where my pen stand was kept, but now I write in bed, propped up by pillows, on the laptop.

You are launching a book of poems soon.

The book will include 40-50 poems from my journey across the frozen river in Zanskar.

The book you are reading at the moment?

Rohinton Mistry’s Such A Long Journey.

Any upcoming films?

I just finished a lovely little film with Farooque Shaikh called Listen Amaya, a mother-daughter story which is also about two middle-aged people who are attracted to each other.

Do you watch contemporary Hindi films?

I haven’t seen many of them, but I make sure I don’t miss a Vishal Bhardwaj, Aamir Khan or Sudhir Mishra film.