In the Media

AP writer nets novel plot, e-buffs can weave it too - The New Indian Express

The New Indian Express, September 29 2000, Chennai Edition

Hyderabad, Sept 28: Telugu novelist entered the Net Age! GV Amareswara Rao, a popular writer achieved the distinction of being India's first e-novelist with 'www.hamarashehar.com' a multilingual portal launching his novel, "Beautiful Enemy" on September 25.

What really distinguishes him from other writers is that he is the only Indian writer of an Interactive novel, a feat mastered by Stephen King, a horror novelist from US.

"Beautiful Enemy" is simultaneously being translated into Telugu — "Andamaina Satruvu" and Hindi — "Khoob Surat Dushman".

Illustrator-turned- artist-turned-writer, Rao has about 45 novels and over 20 film scripts to his credit and is bracketed into the hallowed category of following among readers and receptivity among publishers.

The e-novel is interesting. You can change the name of all main characters and of course, the course of story too. For instance, you can become the hero and your beloved one the heroine. The villain? Your choice.

The 20 part (or episode?) novel, which will be updated every week, would split into two streams after the fifth week. The story simultaneously progresses in two different directions — you can pick up your choice. The daily grading by readers (or browsers) decide which is more popular.

Its story line is simple. Ravindra is chased by a bad woman, Pankajam, for his property. Under mysterious circumstances, he is sentenced to death after being falsely implicated in a murder case. Finally, Radha, heroine, enters the scene to add drama to the story. A lot of thrill is assured.

UNIQUE ASPECTS: Its other unique aspects are: You can choose the font size of the letters, colours of illustrations and bookmark the page so that you can start from where you left it last time. Webcasted by Adent Citylink services, the novel can be downloaded free of cost.

Little did Rao know when Bodepudi Krishna Prasad, a US based NRI, asked him to author the e-novel, he would be emulating Stephen King.

Of course, the similarity ends at that. If King's novels cost one US dollar for downloading each episode, Rao's episodes are free of cost.

42 year-old Rao is working for the last nine years as an artist in Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University in Hyderabad. Earlier, he worked for many photographer.

OVERWHELMING RESPONSE: The response to the novel in the first three days of overwhelming.

"I am happy that Telugu people from US and other European countries are reading it," he said. "This shows there is scope for literature even in the Net age".

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