Anti-hero narrative

Arun krishnan’s second fictional outing is told through the eyes of the villan and set against the backdrop of social media and networking

There is a comfortable feeling that comes with a thriller. You know the pages will keep turning, you know your heart will beat with your detective hero as he ticks off suspects and presents you with the villain in the last page of the book. Critics may call it an easy way out. But what if you start the other way around, what if you start from the villain Arun Krishnan places at the centre of his second book Antisocial, a man called Arjun, who is your killer. This is not the suspense first person narrative like Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. This is Arjun living his life and keeping you on tenterhooks as he does.

“The idea of having the main character as a murderer was appealing in a thriller set in the world of social networking. We go to great lengths to appear perfect through our posts on social networks. To have a flawed character trying to navigate this world was especially appealing,” says Arun.

“MyFace” is the social network here, and forms pretty much the background for the whole book. The hero is an immigrant to the US, constantly switching to scenes from his Indian past, and an abused childhood. It’s like listening to the thoughts of a mentally disturbed man. Arjun realises this himself when he comments how difficult it was to behave normally.

He puts Arjun in an advertising world, for he’s been working there for the last 15 years. Choosing the murderer as his hero is not his most daring act. Arun becomes critical of India, at a time when every word that displeases a certain section of people, is attacked. “There should be no sacred cows when it comes to freedom of expression. We see the repercussions of suppressing criticism in the repressive monarchies of the Middle East where frustrated individuals without a feeling of value or purpose subsume their identities to collective moments based on jingoism or religion. If the Modi supporters continue to have their way, India will soon go the same way.”

Like Stephen King, he believes it’s important to be genuine and let each character speak freely without regard to what the Legion of Decency might approve of. “To do otherwise would be cowardly and would be doing a disservice to the reader.”