Sci-fi scene in India is on a high, but it hasn’t peaked yet: Authors at DakLF 2020

From finding a few Science Fiction books dumped in a corner of the bookstore to huge racks of them written by Indian authors, times have changed, said Gautham Shenoy, Sci-Fi writer. He was in conversation with Arati Kadav, writer and director of the film Cargo at DakLF 2020.

Agreeing with him, Arati said things were looking up on the film front as well, “I struggled for more than seven years to produce Cargo. No producers were keen on producing a Science Fiction film. Now, times have changed as people watch movies of all genres on OTT platforms. So, they make sure they listen to the idea.”

The change, however, has been fast and palpable, she added, “People are coming forward to turn books into films. For instance, there are talks about turning Samit Basu’s Turbulence into a movie. We are in the golden phase of watching and reading Science Fiction in India.

While our writers add the element of originality, the readers can easily connect with the cultural and social element.”Gautham turned to how regional sensibilities and locales were getting a lot of play with a Sci-Fi twist to it. And the pandemic, work from home and increased OTT exposure has helped with that growth.