India, June 13 -- Why did you think that Awtar Kaul's story needed to become a book rather than remain a family memory?

The journey towards this book was remarkably organic. I never consciously decided that I would one day write a book about Awtar Kaul. In fact, the process began less as a literary project and more as a lifelong effort to understand someone whose absence had shaped my family history.

I was only 10 years old when Awtar passed away. On the same day that news arrived of 27 Down winning a National Award, news also arrived of his death. Even as a child, the collision of those two events left a deep impression on me. For a while, his name and his film continued to appear in newspapers, magazines, and conversations. Gradually,...