Arjun Mehta, a daydreaming computer geek, arrives in America with rich fantasies that are shaken when he has to take up a Silicon Valley job as an assistant virus tester. His American dream is further impaired when he gets laid off like hundreds of Silicon Valley workers. Desperate to retain his job, he releases a mischievous but destructive virus around the globe, leading to startling consequences. The unchartered developments soon involve a beloved Bollywood actress.
Hari Kunzru
London-based Kunzru, 34, was recently in New York to promote his book, where he spoke to Senior Editor Arthur J Pais.
Imagine for a moment that a film is being made out of your book and you can choose the lead actors from Bollywood. Who would choose?
(Smiles) I will want Saif Ali Khan to play Arjun Mehta. He is quite good at playing hapless characters.
Not Hrithik Roshan, not Aamir Khan?
I wouldn't want Hrithik Roshan (chuckles), his muscles are too big. Aamir Khan would try to make the part too serious. And certainly not Aishwarya Rai to play the movie actress. She is too glamorous for the actress's role in my book. Kajol would be ideal. She has the simplicity and people see her as someone they are familiar with.
You have recently discovered Bollywood. What are some of your favorite films?
I got hooked on to Bollywood three years ago. I used to see a few Hindi films when I visited my father's family in Agra. They did not interest me much. But now I am really seeing those movies. I enjoyed Tere Ghar Ke Saamne [starring Dev Anand and Nutan] quite a bit.
Share with us something about the writing process. Did you enjoy writing this book?
Surely there must be some enjoyment in what one does. But right at the very beginning, I started getting worried. My luck had changed considerably with my first book [for which he got an impressive £1.25 million advance] and I was worried how this book would be received.
For several days I kept blinking at the cursor, waiting for certain inspiration. Usually I write about 1,000 words a day. Anything more is fantastic. Less than 1,000 words make me feel guilty. But once I resolved Ajay Mehta's predicament -- his struggle to fit into his idolised world -- I was back to my 1,000 words a day schedule.
You would not have worried so much about the second book if you had not received such a huge advance for the first, right?
When I was writing the first book, people were interested in me because of my work and not in the publishing angle. But once the book was sold, there was feverish speculation about its success. By and large it received favourable reviews. But when I began working on the second book, the speculation started again, with some wondering if I was the newest publishing industry freak.
Transmission also deals with post 9/11 paranoia, isn't it?
The book is set at the end of the boom in Silicon Valley when the bubble started bursting. And then September 11 happened. My anxieties over the darkening of the political world began to increase. I am always interested in humor and absurdity. To see humor in 9/11 is wrong but there is a Kafkaesque aspect that produces certain situations that are utterly absurd. You will find such situations in Transmission.
Like the one in which the virus is mistaken for a terrorist attack?
Right. I would have found it difficult to imagine [it] in the pre 9/11 setting.
You visited Silicon Valley when you worked for the British edition of Wired magazine. What do you remember most?
I remember the palpably unrealistic attitude Silicon Valley had about world economy. All the rules were going to change in the new economy, people said. I had to argue against that notion, and ask about the have-nots. I was repeatedly told there are no have-nots but only have-laters. It seemed to me such thinking about global inequality was ridiculous.
You have been outspoken on global migration, which is also a theme in your new book. Could you tell us more?
I believe in a world without borders. I see a paradox in the way the capitalist world is looking at migration, including asylum-seeking. The capitalist world believes in the free movement of capital but not in the free movement of people.
What interests you most about migration?
It can be powerful and destructive, and Transmission relates to both trends. On one hand, barriers are broken and people are coming to understand each other better. On the other hand, people like Ajay Mehta pay a big price. I'm also fascinated by the emergence of a global class but their movement is not always free.
What kind of fear does the West have about free migration?
Its attitude [towards free migration] is neurotic. The citizens of the rich world are surprised that other people would like to share some of their wealth.
When you rejected the 2002 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize given out by the Mail on Sunday [awarded annually for a book whose author is under 35 and is a citizen of Great Britain or the Commonwealth], you had asked the money be given to the Refugee Council. Did it happen?
(Laughs) Yes, yes, I have proof that they gave away £5,000 to the Refugee Council. I had rejected the prize from the newspaper because it opposes asylum-seekers and ridicules them. I believe the money they gave to the Council is one of the biggest donations it has received.
What was your first reaction on winning the prize?
I felt sick when I heard who sponsored it [The Mail on Sunday]. There was no way I was going to accept it. The question then was whether I should refuse it quietly or make it an issue.
Your gesture created quite a stir, isn't it?
I enjoyed it all. I thought it was a nice gesture, and more important, it gave me an opportunity to show my convictions.
I considered it a privilege not to accept the award.
Why was it a privilege?
I had access to the media and I thought I should use it to the greater good than just selling books or talking about them.
You have spoken out on the subject of hijab [the veil worn by Muslim women]. How did you start thinking about it?
I was in Copenhagen with a liberal journalist who happened to look out of her window and saw a young girl wearing the hijab. The Danish journalist got very upset and began talking about how Muslim women are made to do things that are outdated, how they are humiliated by their men, and made to cover their heads.
And you felt
I understand why some women want to wear the hijab, and it may not have anything to do with what their men think about it. Many people in the West do not understand it. I am not religious. My father was raised a Hindu and my mother, a Lutheran. I had no religious upbringing at all.
But I feel strongly against the West trying to tell the Muslim women what to do, without trying to understand some of the reasons why certain traditions have endured for centuries. I feel it is this idea of European supremacy, of European imperialism, that makes some think there ought to be a law against the hijab. To sweep away something that has been there for over 1,000 years without engaging the people in discussion is racism. And then there is a bigger picture, not a pretty one that involves Muslims in the West.
What is this big picture?
I see Muslims in particular being pushed out in many European countries. They are being asked to prove their allegiance all the time. I can understand why young Muslims are putting up posters of Osama bin Laden in their rooms. It is also scary to find many Western, educated young women in England and elsewhere wearing the full Muslim traditional dress (the burkha). They are doing it in the face of prejudice against Islam. You hear strict orthodox views from educated young women in England.
What scares you most about the hijab controversy?
I would tell the women to take off the hijab. But I suspect many people who are speaking against the hijab are not speaking from any care for the women. I think they are saying the hijab is a sign of primitivism whereas their own culture is superior. I find racism and imperialism in such thinking.
You do not have much faith in the way secular governments deal with the rights of minorities, do you?
There is no guarantee that a secular government can truly protect the minorities. Look at the religious riots in India, look at what happened to Muslims in Gujarat.
Photograph: Paresh Gandhi
Image: Uday Kuckian
