While signing a book he said, “I write about romantic-thriller and nobody else in India writes about this genre. There are romance writers and there are thriller writers, but romantic-thriller is somewhat niche in India. I am one of the very few who has picked it up.”

When quizzed about his inspirations, he said, “There have been many, but, I think I have been most influenced by Ayn Rand. The Fountainhead just blew my mind off. Sidney Sheldon has been an influence, so have been Henry Miller and Franz Kafka. I have never tried to copy anyone, but these people have fascinated me. They introduced me to a world that exists within you. So my biggest influence…definitely Ayn Rand.”

Chakraborty said, “I love Bengali, though I have difficulties in reading Bengali, I have watched a lot of Bengali films. Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha are my favourites.”

Speaking on contemporary Bengali authors. Novoneel said, “There is a huge gap in contemporary Bengali literature today. No Bengali writer is coming up with anything that is commercial as well as it has a literary touch to it. Believe me, if I had a little more command over the language, I would not have written in English, that’s for sure.”

 
 

(Reporting By Sudipto Maity)