“Slumdog” author at Franschoek fest
Diplomat of the moment, Vikas Swarup, Deputy High Commissioner for India in South Africa and the author of the novel (Q&A) on which the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire is based, will be discussing both novel and film at this year’s Franschhoek Literary Festival, which runs from 15 to 17 May.
Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches story of an orphan from the backstreets of Mumbai who is falsely accused of cheating in a television game show, won a staggering eight Oscars over the weekend, including best film, best director and best adapted screenplay. In his Oscar acceptance speech, screenplay writer Simon Beaufoy said: “I certainly wouldn’t be standing here tonight without Vikas Swarup, who wrote the book, without which none of Slumdog would ever have happened.”
Swarup was quoted in an interview with Transworld as saying: “In Q&A I wanted to show that knowledge is not the preserve of the educated elite and that even a ‘street-kid’ can possess the wisdom to win a quiz show.”
Apart from the multiple Oscar triumphs, Slumdog Millionaire won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, three awards at the British Independent Film Awards 2008 and the National Board of Review’s best film of 2008. It also walked away with five wins at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and won all four categories that it was nominated for at the Golden Globe Awards (best director, picture, screenplay & score), as well as seven BAFTA Awards.
Q&A has also won various accolades, with awards such as the Most Influential Book of the Year 2008 from Kingstone Bookstore, Taiwan’s largest book chain. It was also shortlisted for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006, as well as the Prix Grand Public at the 2007 Paris Book Fair. Swarup’s most recent novel is the murder mystery Six Suspects.
The final day-to-day programme for the Franschhoek Literary Festival will be available shortly, and bookings for the festival opens on 16 March.
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