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What it takes to write a book? Insights from Mr. Abhishek Jain

This is the 31st blog of my #31Days31Blogs project.

“Hey I have an idea and I am going to write a book on it”. You hear this from a lot of your friends and in due course of time, the idea is forgotten and the book vanished. Well, if you get a golden biscuit for every such incident, you would have a gold studded bungalow for yourself by now. A lot of people cannot convert their idea into a full length book because it is terribly difficult to write and continue doing so for months! From forcing yourself to sit on a chair, brainstorming, writing, deleting and re-writing, it is a tedious task and one that needs a lot of patience (and passion ofcourse). I am still working on my novel and thus understand this pain of people in the same zone; hence I do not demand the golden biscuit from my ‘dream-author’ friends. Moreover, everytime I blog, I have to keep aside all the business worries (and the heat woos of Ahmedabad) to be able to focus.


This blog post is dedicated to all the loyal (and the guest) visitors of my blog. I’ve seen a lot of you starting your own blogs and I feel good that it has sparked that fire within you. Some of you, off late, have buzzed me regarding their to-be-books, and I thought that a little insight from Mr. Abhishek Jain on this matter will be a great help for those in need. For all those who do not know him (which is definitely a minority but I respect India’s constitution), Mr. Abhishek Jain is the Founder and Director at CineMan Productions Limited and known for his direction in Gujarati films Kevi Rite Jaish and Bey Yaar. His book  “Aa To Just Vaat Chhe…” was on his experiences while making these two urban Gujarati films; and the book was released on 30th May 2015.


  1. When did you decide to author a book? What made you decide to sit down and actually start writing?

Abhishek Jain says-

Right after the release of my first film, there were many youngsters who came up and asked me about the process and how they can get into films and how they can be part of the changing times in Gujarati cinema. I always wondered, if I can answer all their questions or not? Moreover these are the people who can contact me, what about those who cannot?

After making the second film, I realized that filmmaking is easier than managing to make a film and thus for those who want to plunge into Gujarati cinema, there are going to be pitfalls and challenges, what if I can document them all and archive it for their reference. I didn’t want them to make the same mistakes that we did. The idea of writing a book was initiated by Aarti Patel and my publisher Ronak Shah.


  1. Did you have a special time to write or how is your day structured? Did you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? And, did you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

Abhishek Jain says-

I am an absolute newbie in the literature world. I didn’t know how people write and what time of the day do they dedicate to their writings, but Aarti Patel helped me a lot in the entire process. Since the book was going to be in Gujarati language, I knew that my shallow knowledge in Gujarati is going to hinder me and thus she understood my feelings and what I was trying to communicate, then she used to phrase it in Gujarati and ask me if this is what exactly I meant. The process was time consuming and rigorous, I think we took almost 4-5 months to write it down. Being a filmmaker first, my priorities were less towards the book and thus only few hours in a week is what I could dedicate.


  1. How did you write? Computer, dictate or longhand?

Abhishek Jain says-

I dictated the entire book to Aarti Patel and she very dedicatedly wrote it down on a piece of paper, later the typist had put it down on a computer.


  1. What was the hardest thing about writing this book?

Abhishek Jain says-

I have a very poor memory, so one of the challenges was to recall the incidents of my life. I know that most of my family members, friends and relatives remember more about my life than I can recall. Secondly, language as I mentioned was a challenge, to be able to articulate my thoughts into the language which is expected to be in the book (literature form) was a bit difficult, I must confess that in this process I learnt a bit more of Gujarati. Third challenge was to make sure that nowhere I sound pompous or self boasting.


  1. If this book was to be a book-series, what will the next book be?

Abhishek Jain says-

hahaha…I never expected that my book will be taken so seriously. For it to have series, I will have to make some more films and make some newer mistakes.


  1. With Kindle and e-books becoming the buzzword these days, how do you see the future of print publishing in the years to come?

Abhishek Jain says-

Talking about my personal experience, I am an ardent reader and I have made sure that the books that are very close to my heart or which can be read again and again in life or a book that I can possess forever- I will buy a hard copy of the same and for the books which are momentary, more based on the factual and used as references- I can read them on my kindle. Sometimes, I also have a hard copy and the same copy on kindle so that when I am traveling, I don’t have to carry the book but when I am not traveling, I can read the book in its physical form, which is more fun and more real too.


  1. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Abhishek Jain says-

I am an aspiring writer myself, what advice can I give? Infact, I seek advice from writers and readers around.


Wow. Abhishek’s replies were fun indeed! Hope to see him making more films so the readers get few more books from him. For me, I have a hardbound copy of his book and I hope it comes out in an English version soon for a lot of other readers to be able to experience Abhishek’s journey.


Aa To Just Vaat Chhe can be bought at


Read Gujarati Film Review Blogs at:

Bas Ek Chance –

Chhello Divas –

Hu Tu Tu Tu –

Prem Rang, Fillam, 3 Doba –

Mr. Anand Bhate
Mr. Anand Bhate


  1. Tejas Thakker says:

    Su vaat chhe sir… moj paddi vachvani ho

  2. Nirav Patel says:

    Can you please share the kindle link of the book as well?

  3. Avinash Trivedi says:

    Sir we have come up with a short film on Gujarat culture. Please email check karine support karo.

  4. Payal Kotak says:

    Will buy:)

  5. Neil Suchak says:

    Best wishes from Gujarati Samaj Bangalore.

  6. Ajay Ram T. says:

    Wish to read it someday before I enter the Kannada Film Industry. Awaiting English/Hindi version Anand!

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