Look at that lush cover.   Playing, indeed.

Today was the official release date of  Melanie Abrams’ first novel.

When you read about it in coming days and weeks (my review too, soon), you will likely hear a lot about the S&M in the relationship between Josie, the American grad student, and Devesh, the older Indian doctor.   And yes, those parts of the book do often crackle, but there’s also a lot of heavy psychological issues going on too, and, most important, a well spun tale.

The filmi connection comes in two places: first, in the novel itself.   As the relationship between Devesh and Josie begins to grow, he introduces her to Hindi movies, even driving her miles away (the story is set mainly in North Carolina) to catch a movie at a cinema.   Another night, they watch RGV’s  Company at home.

The other filmi filament between the author and the  Maharashtra-based (ahem) movie biz is her hubby, Bombay raconteur Vikram Chandra.   The couple now both teach at University of California, Berkeley, when not writing or spending time back in India, in that salty, cinematic city by the sea, where Melanie and SRK have a hair stylist in common.

Some of her favorite Hindi movies:   Satya, Lagaan and Parineeta.

While she’s not crisscrossing the country right now to promote Playing, you  folks living in or near San Francisco and Berkeley will have a few chances to see her during April.  

In the months after the first Abrams-Chandra co-production arrives (the baby’s due date is in May), Melanie will be out and about to  meet her readers in the US and India.