In her ninth novel, Contamination, (Om Books), Richa Lakhera explores the little-known genre of militia horror. “It is a merging of two genres—war and horror, guns and ghosts,” says the 40-year-old television journalist over a video call from Mumbai. “Militia horror is an underutilised genre in India.”
In Contamination, with flying bullets, exploding grenades and a rising body count, Richa says there are also hungry ghouls. “I have merged the paranoia of a constant war with horror. So from hunters, the characters become the hunted.”
Promise of wonder
Supernatural elements, Richa believes, deliver a promise of a world of wonder and mystery. “The supernatural offers hope, that we have not seen it all, that there is more.” The Hungry Gods writer says she was working on another book, The History of Violence, which deals with the same concept minus the supernatural elements, when she decided to change track. “Obviously, I could not introduce horror in that book. So I started writing Contamination.”
The biggest challenge in writing a book like this is the research, says Richa. “Being a journalist, I follow what I call the three Rs — research, asking the right questions and being resourceful.”
Temptress or catalyst?
Amba, the protagonist of Contamination, is a woman, leading soldiers through a conflict. “Traditionally heroes are male and the only role given to a woman is either as a temptress, to tempt the male hero from his goal or as a catalyst to help him achieve it.”
In Contamination, Richa says, stereotypes are broken with Amba following Joseph Campbell’s template for a hero’s journey. “So initially, there is a trauma, then a call to adventure with ordeals, battles, resolution and final resurrection. Amba goes through the trials of operating in a male-dominated zone. If she had refused to take up the challenge of heading this unit, then her experience would have been that of a victim and not a hero.”
Matter of choice
The plot, Richa says, provokes Amba to make choices, which reveal her integrity. “That is what heroism is about. Heroism is gender agnostic. It has to do with the choices we make. I have avoided trying to explain Amba’s choices from the gender point of view, because that flattens the storytelling.”
While Contamination is the story of the becoming of a hero, of choosing light over dark and the transformative power of forgiveness, Richa says, the larger, unifying theme is that war is the greatest horror.
Name of the game
A lot of thought has gone into the naming of the characters, says Richa. “In The Mahabharata, Amba is not gender-specific, that was one of the reasons I found the name powerful. I enjoyed naming the gun-toting psychopath, Rosie Madbull. Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) in No Country for Old Men was my template for Colonel Madbull. I liked the contrast between Rosie and Madbull.”
Old as time
Supernatural forces have existed forever, says Richa. “The battle between good and evil is there in all our stories with this huge armoury of marvellous astras and mentors. The stories are relatable as everything is rooted in emotions, from envy and lust to pride and arrogance. From The Mahabharata to the Marvel Universe, the characters are ancient but their weapons are modern.
The progression from being a journalist to a writer is a natural one, according to Richa. “Whether you are a journalist, a writer, a screenwriter or a novelist, it all boils down to being passionate about telling a story. The cardinal rule is ‘don’t go lightly to a blank page. Whatever you feel, whether despair or hate, feel it strongly’.”
On screen
While Hungry Gods is being adapted by Sanjay Gupta ( Shootout at Lokhandwala, Kaante), Richa has got options for Contamination too. “Earlier there was this disinterest in supernatural films, which is puzzling because Indian story-writing is replete with magic and myth. It is baffling that we have only a handful of fantasy films in the last four decades that earned the big bucks.”
A cultural change has come in audience’s tastes which could be because of the global content, especially in the OTT space, says Richa. “We don’t have an Alice in Wonderland or The Lord of the Rings yet. We are getting there with Kantara, Tumbaad and Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva. These films show that not only is there an audience for them, but also that filmmakers are opening up to the concept of introducing supernatural elements.”