“I was actually asked earlier on - why can’t you write books about other writers and other women, like the ones about suppression, depression, oppression? Repression? A kind of a jaunty happy read from a woman of this region was not considered good enough.”
“Even if they said prime time has to be reserved for Belgian cinema, I would have responded the same way. The government has no business in deciding which movies are to be shown in prime time,” her thoughts on the Indian government’s rule on prime time viewing of Marathi films in Indian cineplexes.
“Tell me who isn’t obsessed with sex? Why the Indian media? The whole world is obsessed with sex. It’s just that, at the time, it was before ‘50 shades of grey’ and ‘160 shades of black and white and blue’ and everything else,” Shobhaa De, when asked if the Indian media is obsessed with sex.
“The disparities within men and women, the roles and disparities were so defined and so cast in stone. I think they’re breaking and I think that’s a very positive sign of all that is possible. It hasn’t happened yet, but it is happening,” elaborating on her views on changing gender roles.
“God help India. I don’t know. I’m not qualified for that job. I wouldn’t ever dream of it, I love India too much” her response to what she would do if she was Prime Minister of India. - Shobhaa De
Ciku Kimeria : I would’ve never thought about pulling out (from the festival) because in our country we’re used to a culture of threats as well - so I’m glad no one thought about leaving us behind. Because, really, anything could happen in any place.
Marcel Theroux: We each inhabit a number of worlds defined by family, economic class, race, religion etc. Science fiction shows us how contingent these realities actually are.
Ranbir Sidhu: We all experience a level of teenage excitement at seeing the world destroyed – I guess that’s why we have so many dystopian novels.
Yoss: I read my novel to my mother and she was in tears, and she asked me, how can I write this and not cry? I said, my tears are within the pages.