Synopsis
Vikram Seth's novel A Suitable Boy is over 1,300 pages long and weighs several pounds. Yet it outsold popular novelists like Jilly Cooper and John Le Carre and has made an international star of its author. Film-maker Nadia Haggar travelled to Delhi to meet Seth's family as part of this profile, discovering the true stories that contributed to the complex narrative of A Suitable Boy. While composing his great prose work, Seth also found time to write Beastly Tales from Here and There (a collection of children's fables) and a libretto for the English National Opera. Excerpts from these and his earlier work feature in the film. Seth himself is seen at publishing parties in London, negotiating with his agent, and at a family reunion in Delhi, where he meets his music guru and other influential childhood figures. The profile was co-produced by Vikram Seth's sister, Aradhana Seth.