Your Ad Spot

Interview with K. Hari Kumar


K. Hari Kumar
India's Most Haunted

Q.1 Tell us a little about yourself?
A. K. Hari Kumar - Bestselling author of 4 books, screenwriter of Bhram and Enter the Evil, and occasional Agripreneur. I write psychological horror and supernatural thrillers, to be precise.

Q.2 Tell us about your latest release India’s Most Haunted?
A. India’s Most Haunted is a big book of horror (and suspense) stories based on haunted places from the country. There are fifty of them, and that makes it the largest collection in a single volume by a solo author.

Q.3 What was your first introduction to horror literature, the one that made you choose that genre to write?
A. I was introduced to horror by my grandmother. She would tell me stories of Yakshis and Prethas which fascinated me as a child.

Q.4 How many books do you write? 
A. I have written 4 books, 3 of them from the horror genre. All bestsellers and the third one was just adapted into a web series starring Kalki for Zee.

Q.5 What draws people to horror novels? Why do we, as readers, like to be scared?
A. People like to indulge in stories to dismiss their reality and experience the world created by a writer. This goes for any genre (that’s why most people watch films and read books).

Q.6 How do you feel about the horror boom of the ’80s and early ’90s?
A. If you are talking about Hindi films, then it was a phase that demarcated horror as B-grade material for commercial reasons. I personally, love horror films from the period before it was maligned with the masala. Manichitratazhu (Malayalam) and Stree (Hindi) were more respectable Indian horror films in recent times.

Q.7 What was a time in your life when you were really scared?
A. I was stuck in an elevator while on my way to the office. I thought I would not come out.

Q.8 Do you feel any competitive pressure from horror films? If not, why not?
A. I write because I love to do it.

Q.9 What was the first horror book/story you remember reading?
A. The Canterville Ghost or maybe it was The Witches.

Q.10 Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
A. If the bad one is constructive, then I appreciate it. But most of them arise when thoughts are lost in translation. In horror/thriller if you even miss one word in the first act then the entire climax goes for a toss.

Q.11 Does your family supports your career as a writer?
A. Why not?

Q.12 Do you believe in writer’s block? If so, how do you deal with it?
A. Write, travel, eat good food, write.

Q.13 If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in any of your books?
A. No.

Q.14 Do you have any unique and quirky writing habits?
A. I listen to songs appropriate to the scene/chapter that I am writing.

Q.15 What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
A. Recently, I was shown a screenshot of a Google Search for Top Indian horror writer. The result made me happy.

Q.16 What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
A. Bad mouthing and paid trolls.

Q.17 What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
A. Keep writing. You could be a great storyteller, but until and unless you don’t write, you can’t be a writer. So, write.

Q.18 Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
A. The late Satyajit Ray – his works have inspired me.

Q.19 What is your favorite book by other authors and why?
A. Pet Sematary by Stephen King is one of my favorites from the genre. I was used to reading warm horror stories of Ruskin Bond and Charles Dickens when I made this switch to gruesome ones. Another one would be The Shining and Rosemary’s Baby. All of these were made into classic Hollywood movies. You do not need supernatural elements all the time to make good horror stuff.

Q.20 Share the experience of your journey so far?
A. It has been fruitful. I am coming a full circle.

Share your social account links -
Instagram - @theharikumar
Twitter - @theharikumar

1 comment:

  1. Horror genre is my favorite genre. I would love to read his books.😊

    ReplyDelete