Sex Sells

“Suri”, I said, looking directly into his eyes, “Sex sells”.

I took a deep breath, before continuing,

“Look dude, that is the reality. You have to write about sex and other contemporary topics. That is when you begin to sell – I mean your work begins to sell”.

No. He wouldn’t buy it. He was inching further to one his “I-am-a-serious-writer-so-I-have-to-be-depressed” moods. I knew I had to try harder.

“Look at Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan.”, I said, before looking around to see if no one was eavesdropping on our conversation. To be more specific about the “no one”, I wanted to be sure that what I was about to tell my dear friend wouldn’t fall on the ears of some die-hard-feminist who would come charging at me with the “you-male-chauvinistic-pig” weapon. Convinced that we were alone, I continued boldly,

“She sells sex, and people read her work eagerly man. She writes about the men (I was not sure about the women part, so I didn’t think it would be proper to mention it) she bonked, her sexual escapades, her experiments with the cigarette, the drunken orgies she was part of and oh yeah, about her soul searching process and her version of the meaning of life”.

I paused to look if my speech was having any affect on him. No. He wouldn’t budge. He wouldn’t say a word. I did not want to give up. One last try and maybe he’ll see my point.

“Dude, you just can’t write about your childhood and adolescence and expect people to read about it. I mean you did not even speak with girls lest alone get close to them. Compare it with Ms. Madhavan who proudly proclaims to have dated two men at the same time even before she was twenty. People love to hear that man, and empathize with her and her sexual freedom – but don’t you even think of creating a fictitious character in your novel who would date two women at the same time – you’d be turning your hero into a Lying-Cheating-Bastard!!”

I decided to deliver the knock-out punch.

“And dude, what do you want to write about? The crush you had on the social teacher? The way you stole glances at girls who wouldn’t even look at you? Or your views about pure love and the ultimate sacrifice? Wake up man! Your audience is India’s Gen Next. Learn from Ms. Madhavan. Sensationalize your work. Use phrases like ‘my life is like a bra that has been put on wrong’. Litter your work with words like shit, fuck, bastard, bitch, relationship, love and of course, the USP, sex. That is what is going to make your work sound cool. And being cool is the in thing for Gen Next.”

I was done. I had hurt him enough. I looked at his moist eyes – I could see the pain. I knew he would never get it. I knew I could not stop him from writing his next book. And I knew what it was going to be about. He wouldn’t change. He was stuck in his own world of idealism where each of his characters breathed virtues. He could never be a realist and I knew that he would always remain unappreciated. I knew I had to buy several copies of his books from the book stands as I had done the last time. I knew that in his heart he knew that I had done so, but would never accept it.

I looked at the mirror and saw the serious author staring back at me. And in a hushed tone I asked myself – “Sex sells?”