Interview with SONNAL PARDIWALA - Author of the BOOK ~ FAN FOR THE FIRST TIME

Over the weeks I was wondering what could be my first blog post for 2015 and I came across this BOOK titled FAN FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

The title didn't make me so curious cause I assumed that it would be some star struck fan writing about her love for the star, at the same time the words FOR THE FIRST TIME rang a bell urging me to pick up the book. The action paid off well, cause what I held in my hand was not a STAR STRUCK fans monologue of love for the star but something totally unique. I knew, I had got my first blog post for 2015.

I wanted the post to be as different as the book itself, so I decided to have a conversation with the author and know more about her, the book, and the journey of creating this ONE OF ITS KIND creation.

Sonnal Pardiwala - The Author

Signing the book for FAISAL KHAN 

Counselling Psychologist by profession, the author initially ventured out into a full time counselling practice. Has written articles for My Doctor magazine and gradually meandered into teaching and training Holistic Healing modalities to students of varied age groups worldwide, personally as well as Online.
She has been an avid blogger and writes on a spectrum of topics ranging from spirituality to home-schooling.

She is going to surprise herself, her readers and students with her stint as a Fanfic writer. Her blog posts about SET India's teleseries - Bharat Ka Veer Putra ~Maharana Pratap, Created by Abhimanyu Singh Contiloe Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. garnered tremendous readership and fans of the show actually eagerly waited for her blog posts.

At the age of forty, with a bouquet of pursuits up her sleeves she proves that there isn't any age for becoming a FAN ... especially when one is a FAN for the FIRST time.

The Conversation

Me: What was that precise moment when you started writing the first blog post?

Sonnal: For that, a little tour requires to be taken, to my personal turmoil I was going through in the month of May 2014. Yes I was hooked to the series and the Little Man (read Faisal Khan). There was a moment in those vacations when I was completely depressed and Hurt! No!!!My Husband and Kids adore me completely. It was rejection from my Parents and siblings that had got me plunged into deep dark hole of self-destruction. I looked at my perfect world and felt “I AM NOT NEEDED ANYMORE.” My kids were Big enough to take care of themselves ( so I thought) My husband will do just fine without me (How utterly foolish I was) and on  29^th May 2014, I decided to pull plug on my life!!! However I was not left alone that day to carry forth that idiotic notion!!! And those days the track of this little Man putting up his best Acting skills was on and my son noticed that the only time mother dear is speaking is when she is watching this show. I had expressed the fact that I would so love to see these episodes again. I did not know about this wonder called YouTube and that show is telecasted again. So, came a day when I was contemplating calling life off. All planned…Hubby n kids were going out for an errand and it seemed like a perfect time to end life silently!

My son opened YouTube and the previous day’s Episode and told me “Mom see this while we are gone, you wanted to see naa?”

Without much enthusiasm I sat. I knew what I was about to do. But well I did…and in the digital medium the output of every expression of this show came through. I sat and gazed…the famous quote of William Wordsworth fit so perfectly

I gazed and gazed but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought…

What clicked, I do not know but I thought why not see that episode? Why not see that track again? And it went on…

I found my Healing in the expressions, this Little Man gave in every scene. 

I forgot to DIE!!!!

Every day now became a delight for after my chores of daily life, I had something to savour and enrich my life. On my loneliest Day, My birthday, on June first, I viewed the episodes on YouTube from afternoon till morning hours of next day. I cried in many tracks and I was enthralled by others. That day the writer took over and decided I need to pen down what this show and specially, this young man has done for me.

What hours of meditation could not do, watching this show did!

~~~~~~

Me: The title is something that attracted me to pick this book up, especially the words... FOR THE FIRST TIME? Please elaborate…

Sonnal: Because that is what I literally am of this Wonder guy. All my young life as a teenager not a single film persona had held my attention! Maybe I liked a movie but well…it was soon forgotten. I never felt the rage of what people declared for film or cricket personas. Collect their pics. I was amused when my friends wasted their precious pocket money in buying their pictures. Why would they want to gaze at every photograph…grab every news item on them. Check tit bits on their lives. Till June I had no idea there was a fan page of this show or of this young man. But when I did log in the net world... Holy God!!! It is a madness out there. So many fan pages so much of information...so many claiming to know him…SBB  segments telling about upcoming tracks and sharing the rapport of this young man with his co-stars. All through I realised I kept staring and tuning into every bit of Expressions I could behold. I realised it was becoming my Healing energy. It filled me with so much happiness and inner Joy. For the first time in life I began to smile Genuinely! I gave up any pretense of hiding my adoration for this young One. My sons and husband were simply happy to get this new lively happy person back. Then I wrote my first blog on Kunwarji-Faisal Khan. Penning down every single thing I adored him for. And I put it up on as many Fan pages I could. The response I got was over whelming to say the least. So many wrote back and inboxed to say, I reflected what they felt about this little Man. I suddenly had so many friends who wanted to talk about the show and discuss our Fangiri, for this Young Man. So there I was Fan for the first time of anyone ever.

                                                         ~~~~~~

Me: The big QUESTION? Why Faisal ?

Sonnal: Why Faisal? For that you may have to see the show! I mean this guy changes expression as naturally as day changes to night. He can smile shyly and you find yourself shy and smiling. He could jump in front of soldiers with an open sword and actually make you believe he would cut down the enemy.

When he looked at his Mother your eyes may brim with tears and you could actually feel the Reverence one has for the parent and the high ideals that traditionally characterised an Indian Son were reflected so perfectly. At the same time he could convince you how he is falling in love with a damsel…the restraint…the oozing of love back n forth…he weaves a web with a different expression each time. He can actually cut your heart up with his agony filled eyes…Ohhhh… you have to see him…I tried explaining …hope I succeeded…

~~~~~~

Me: What made you convert the blogposts into a BOOK?

Sonnal: That is a long story now. When I began writing these blogs I connected with some amazing people across the globe who felt the same about the show and this Little Man…It did become popular read and I had thousands of page reads. It was phenomenal. It has crossed ten thousand plus page views. Requests poured in to cover this segment or that…I enjoyed writing on him. I wanted the whole world to know what a tremendous Acting potential this young Guy has. He had inadvertently played a Pivotal role in my life. Then came a funny Need …in this tech connected world I wanted that Faisal Khan himself should read what is written for him. Now that is what Bloggers do. When Naseeruddin Shah Came up with his book And Then One day…my husband who is an avid fan of his, wrote a book review and tweeted him...Nasirji tweeted right back with a Thank you Beta! When the Movie Finding Fanny was released. My 14 year old wrote a film Review and tweeted the link to Homi Adajania and he retweeted right away. Encouraged by these sophisticated appreciation, well, I thought I would get my hero to read my appreciation too. I had some hard lessons to learn and I had to face some equally discouraging moments. For this immensely talented man’s identity on media is the most misused!! All those Handles that sort of were his, I gave my links, only to be disappointed …no one had a clue as to where this young guy is. I got stories…he does not know English!!! (A guy in English medium in Mumbai?? I mean seriously???) He has no time…(granted and agreed…)He does not appreciate written word …hmmm…now that as a writer I had trouble digesting. Everyone would love praise written on them…now who would not. And of course with each track the blogs kept increasing in popularity. But my dream that my Hero should read about him was elusive. Then Came in my Magician Husband and Son with their super suggestion…Why not Convert all this material of blogs into a Book and let it reach wider audience. Maybe I could give him as a birthday Gift in January. They took over from there. Once the book was ready we gifted it first to Contiloe CEO  MR ABHIMANYU SINGH. He for sure was thrilled to get the feedback and BLESS HIS SOUL, he fulfilled my dream to give a Copy to MY DEAR LITTLE MAN. He agreed despite the busy schedule of both himself and Faisal Khan to meet briefly in his Office.

~~~~~~

Me: I have this privilege to unravel the book COVER. Could you tell us significance of the book COVER.

THE BOOK COVER 

Sonnal: I believe this, that When you love someone, raise the person so high that when they see your STAR through your eyes, He appears like a Rising Sun to them! I absolutely adore this Little Man whom I also feel is a Destiny’s child. To symbolise that the Cover page has the Image of a Rising Sun. He too is a Rising Sun whose brilliance is going to increase and spread far and wide.

I do wish good luck to this immortal character he made alive. I wish good luck to this natural actor in him to grow and shine ever more in his brilliance. I request his fans to be dignified in all the encounters they make on the behalf of this decent guy and help his persona in media to reach tumultuous heights. I will treasure every single close up that I have captured in the book and cherish every word I have written on him. 

~~~~~~

Me: The defining moment of your life when you met Faisal?

Sonnal: It is called Magic …thirty precious minutes specially ordained by my Angels and higher folks. They fulfilled the Dream of meeting him respectfully. I am a Mother of two and a perfectly happy wife. I did not wish to go and meet him like a desperate screaming Fan. That moment deserved every respect that I have for him. It is not lust...or sense of control. He is a Star…he and his immense talent belongs to everyone who admires him the same way I do. I wanted the world to know him as a Sensitive and Smart and Suave Persona. By giving him the book as gift it was also to raise his Image …in the media. He is not a Mediocre Guy...he is humble, cute. He was at first a little wary when he entered …he confessed that he thought there will be a pamphlet or sling book waiting…Indeed he was surprised to see such a massive book on him. I am surprised too at what I have created. 

I THINK EVERYTHING RELATED TO THE BOOK HAS A LIFE OF ITS OWN AND ITS OWN DESTINY. 

I skipped a beat there when he entered the room. This was My little man so breath takingly handsome. He was reading the first blog I wrote on him fluently in English…and a little uncomfortable of course and understandably. I told him how I began writing on him...how I tried to reach him ...how out of anger I Deleted three blogs of his…we talked about how he plans to get good grades in Boards. He actually could not believe. He asked “Will people read a book written on me??” I had to look into his eyes and tell him “Sweetheart, thousands of people have already read the blogposts! You are reading it today” He explained how his privacy has been impinged upon daily. I assured him that we respect his privacy and this in all probability was our last meet ever. We gifted him with a box of chocolates for his birthday!!!

He will remain in my memories and prayers but I shall not hound him like a Crazy Fan. I hope he remembers our thirty minutes in a special way all his life and understands what he means to me and my life forever.

For him I would like to do everything to make this book a success, which will answer his query “Will someone read a book written on me?”

The Book -  FAN FOR THE FIRST TIME is a first of its kind in many ways. It's one of its kind BLOG to BOOK experiment in India. Sonnal Pardiwala is the first writer in India to author a fanfic based on a tele-show. Also, in all probabilities, Youngest Indian celebrity on whom a book is written.

To quote the Author's words from the book - 

             "It is simply a besotted fan’s ode."

The BOOK Team has applied for 

*THE LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS*

On 28th March a Book Signing event was held to celebrate FANDOM

The Fans with this unique special edition Coffee Table Book 

got their copies signed by 

Faisal Khan and the Author Sonnal Pardiwala 

  The Book Review of Fan For The First Time:

For fans in India - you could order your copy through - (no delivery charges ONLY within INDIA)
https://www.instamojo.com/sonnalp/fan-for-the-first-time-the-book/

For overseas fans - the book is also  available through -

http://pothi.com/pothi/book/sonnal-pardiwala-fan-first-time-0

Now also available at TITLE WAVES Bandra West Mumbai

                             & Kitaboo Kandiwali west

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