Soham P Shah: The Entire Credit For Discovering My Potential To Write Goes To Karan Johar

Soham P Shah, director of films like ‘Kaal’ and ‘Luck’, has been known in the industry as a competent filmmaker. Now the young director has turned writer with his debut novel titled ‘Blood Moon’. The book has been garnering some great response from all over.

Sharing more on the book Soham P Shah says, “‘Blood Moon’ is a paranormal thriller written by me.  When Covid-19 struck, I realized it was the best time to put my mind and creativity on paper. That is when I started writing ‘Blood Moon’ and found a good agent Sohail Mathur from Book Bakers. Within a couple of months, my book was selected by Mr. Ajay Mago the publisher Om Books International marking the beginning of my journey as an author. It took me approximately 3-4 months to write the book, but subconsciously, the concept and world I created had been happening for a long time. Many years of thought process and research were jumbled up together - the book helped unlock it. Since it was written during lockdown, I managed to do it quickly otherwise it might have taken 7-9 months or more.”

Soham P Shah adds, “It is one thing to write the story for movies I have directed, and it is very different writing a novel. The entire credit for discovering my potential to write goes to Karan Johar. When I was assisting him and working on ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ or with Ram Gopal Varma on ‘Bhoot’, I realised that having a right story to tell as a filmmaker is critical to success. Karan inspired me to write a story, leading to my first movie – ‘Kaal’. Then I wrote ‘Luck’ and the yet-to-be-released film ‘Kartam Bhuktam’. Along with developing my craft, changing, and learning a different way of writing. I completely changed the style of writing to adapt to a novel reader.”

A good writer’s job is something which is unique in nature as they are the one who creates the world around us. Sharing his point of view on this Soham P Shah says, “A writer definitely conveys his thoughts on paper, but I work on the visuals first. It’s very important for me to set up the story in a particular atmosphere. The ambience and location are very important. Maybe being a filmmaker, my storytelling is more visual. Then it forms into characters, story, screenplay, and dialogues. My storytelling is more cinematic. I am not an avid reader of many authors, but I read content that is research-based or cinematic. I like Sir Ruskin Bond, JK Rowling, and also JRR Tolkien, who has written ‘Lord Of The Rings’. These worlds attract and inspire me.”

Sharing his plans now that his debut novel has seen the light of the day, Soham P Shah says, “My immediate plan after ‘Blood Moon’, which is already doing well, is to make a film or a web show version. I am waiting for more of publishers’ response and the viewers’ and readers’ response. I have started developing a sequel as well.”