Coffee with Akarsh

Hello friends! As usual, I am back with a new interview session. Today, we have with us, as the third interviewee of this blog, the young and budding author Akarsh Raker, whose book "The Unknown Freedom" has recently hit the markets. Come, let us look into the life of Akarsh and see what he has in store for us.

Hello Akarsh, welcome to The Insight. Please tell us something about ‘The unknown freedom’.

See actually it has become like a trend to use words such as freedom but it is sad that people of our country have forgotten the basic freedom. It is almost non existent. When I came across certain incidents in my life and lives around me, I wanted people to know about this forgotten freedom after which I started to write which eventually became my debut book. The book basically is a collection of four short stories written by me which speaks of different issues which we come across everyday. Some part of it is true and some are dramatized version of actual facts.

I see.

Well, according to you, what does the term 'freedom' actually mean?

Freedom... Ahh! According to me its a way to develop yourself. Freedom actually doesn't mean to do whatever you want. Freedom is a commodity which helps you to develop and discover the inner talents and inner demons respectively. For example, a filmmaker has the freedom to shoot what he wants but he can't do it. There is some ethics to be followed. So as I said freedom is a commodity, people should utilize it for their betterment.

You call your novel a ‘ride to reality’. Could you please elaborate it?

Yes. There is some interesting story behind this. After I was done with writing part and my publisher asked me to give a title to it, the first thing came to my mind was “The Unknown Freedom” but when I thought about what would be the tagline I was unable to find one. One fine day I was riding to a friend's place in Bangalore where I saw some incidents on the street which exactly happens in my book. At that moment of time I thought about “A Ride to Reality”.

  Any special reason behind your choosing this particular topic as the theme of your book?

Yup, as I said there were some incidents which happened around me after which I chose to write this. I never thought I would be a writer in the first place and I  didn't choose “The Unknown Freedom” , it chose me.

Wow! I loved your answer.

Could you please, now, tell us something about yourself?

Yeah. This question is frequently asked to writers as people in our Country only recognize stars and sportsmen. I just turned 19 , I study engineering in Dayanand Sagar college. I write. I have a company “Raker films”. We do movies. Basically I love creating something in my life which people remembers even after I live this planet.

 Please tell us something about those who helped you from behind the curtain in this project.

There is lot of people who helped me in shaping up this book. Firstly my parents- for their unconditional support. My brother Adhish, my cousin Anush and Meghana, these three people have supported me no matter what. And of course my friends- Sumukh, Srikanth, Sudhanva, Shashank and others.

Please tell us something about your interaction with the publisher.

First I approached them by sending my manuscript. Within a week I got the response and later the contract was signed and followed by other activities.

Wow! So your work was selected by the very first publisher! It, indeed, defines the quality of your work.

Well, did you face any hurdles in this entire project? Please describe them.

My biggest hurdle was to trust myself if I could write it. But I must say, if you believe yourself and your work, nothing can stop you.

Please name some of your favourite books. 

Firstly, Ravinder Singh's I too had a love story, Mario puzo's Godfather, Sudeep Nagarkar's You're the password to my life and latest inclusion is Durjoy Dutta's World's best boyfriend.

 What are your passions other than writing?

Other than writing my passion is to create moving images on screen that is to make films. That is why I have a production company of my own where we encourage budding talents as much as possible. Films and writing are my only two passions.

What message do you want to give to the young and budding writers of today?

The simple formula for success is no matter what comes your way, bend your head and just do your work, success is destined for those people.

You have been the third person to have been interviewed in this blog. Please tell your experience of this entire interview session.

It always feels nice to get interviewed. I had a great time chatting and Thank you for having me here.

Thank you Akarsh! I too had a great time with you! Thanks for being with us. We wish you the best for your book and for your future.