Uproar over ‘Bollywood Scandals to Prostitution’ Kanika Saini’s novel ‘The Mumbai Monsoon’
-Sulena Majumdar Arora
The latest book in the market by Kanika Saini, The Mumbai Monsoon, is a story that chronicles the journey of three women, Ruby, Simi and Ayesha, from different walks of life. The young female author has handled the character of Ruby, a 20-year-old sex worker, in a very sensitive manner in this book. She is indeed a young lady with a young heart and has big dreams and hopes in her eyes in search of respect for herself. After suffering the worst traumas, pains and betrayals, she comes across as a very strong woman who really justifies her character. From the strength to break out of the darkness of her past, to the courage to dream, this woman has a strong character that will leave a lasting impression on the readers. The author has managed to put into words the hardships of this most degraded occupation of women, and at the same time make it clear that most of the time prostitution is not the preferred profession for women, but the result of helplessness. Also, the issue of unsafe sex and violence also comes to light in this book.
Being a Bollywood journalist, the author gives a glimpse into the life behind this glamor that the world doesn’t get to see very often. This book will introduce you to the world of Ayesha, a leading Bollywood actress who has all the fame and luxuries one can aspire for. Big bucks, lavish parties, this lady is living a life full of glam. Keeping her face glowing, her health and body in perfect shape, she is a dead woman inside. This is more or less an understatement. His life is a testimony to the saying that “Happiness does not buy with money”. Ayesha lacks dreams for herself. .She comes across as a hopeless character. Another prominent character in this is that of Simi, a middle-class happy-go-lucky Punjabi girl who is married in the city of dreams, Mumbai. From a dream marriage to the blessings of motherhood, she had everything she could dream of but life makes her face some bitter truths where she has to take care of her kids, job and home in an expensive city like Mumbai. One has to deal with the struggles of survival. Overall, this character tells about the situations an average Indian woman has to go through at some point in her life.
The book mainly deals with betrayal, trauma, love and hope. The periodical sneak peeks into the lives of these women really help the reader to understand the characters and lives of these women better. The book ‘The Mumbai Monsoon’ will be released on January 14 on Amazon and Flipkart.
Writer Kanika Saini works as a senior journalist in a leading entertainment portal in Mumbai. His previous book ‘The Day I Met Him’ received good reviews from Indian readers.
