Deepika Jayaram By

CHENNAI: Author Ravi Subramanian who started writing with If God Was a Banker in 2007 has delivered best sellers in a loop — most of all his thrillers revolving around banking and bankers. The author who wants to be known as Grisham of banking, is back yet again with a thriller, God Is A Gamer. City Express caught up with the author who was in the city recently to launch his latest offering at Starmark.

What does writing mean to you?

I won’t give you a melodramatic answer that writing is like breathing to me. It’s in my blood. Or anything which remotely resembles that. To me, writing is pure unadulterated fun. Writing is a means to give my thoughts a definitive shape. It’s a means for me to connect with my readers and entertain them. It’s a means for me to leave a legacy behind. After all, creative people are remembered longer than corporate chieftains. Aren’t they?

What do you prefer writing — fiction or non fiction?

Undoubtedly fiction. I have tried my hand at writing non-fiction. And I decided to take the easier route. Non-fiction, unless it comes from extremely credible hands, falls flat.

Tell us about God Is A Gamer

It’s a pacy thriller, which is set in the world of Bitcoins. My publisher tells me that this is the world’s first Bitcoin thriller. This book will take the reader on a rollercoaster ride through the lives of a Senator in the US, a CEO of a bank in India, a struggling gaming company and the big dark world of the anonymous Internet and Bitcoins. It is very different from my earlier books and I am sure the reader will find it unputdownable.

Viacom18 is going to be making a film on your new book. Who would you want to play the lead?

I would love to see Amitabh Bachchan in the role of Aditya Rao, either Siddharth Malhotra or Varun Dhawan essaying the role of Varun Rao, Aliya Bhatt as Tanya and Nawazuddin as Kabir Khan. These would be the key India characters in the film. Juhi Chawla would be brilliant in the role of Malvika, the CEO of Greater Boston Global Bank.

What’s next?

As of now, I am busy promoting my new book, God is a Gamer. Have no time to even think of my next book. Once I am done with promoting God Is A Gamer, I will give my next book some thought. Only thing I can tell all my readers is… look out for September 2015.