Monday, October 12, 2009

Arzee the Dwarf

Arzee the dwarf, the refreshing new book from first time author Chandrahas Choudary is a good read. A small book, the hardback version comes in at less than 200 pages. However, the book could have been even better if certain cliches of every story had been avoided.
Arzee is a small man. A pretty small one, or a dwarf to be more precise, living in Mumbai. He has been working as a assisstant projectionist at the Noor cinema for almost a decade. The story starts off with Arzee playing cards with his friends, and telling them the news he has been carrying around in his mind for the whole day. The head projectionist, Phiroz, is retiring after more than 30 years at the Noor, and Arzee would, in all probability be promoted in his place. His life seems to be looking up, and he starts having dreams of a normal life like everyone else, including marriage, kids, the works.
However, the next day, he hears a piece of news which brings his world crashing down, and things which looked so rosy just a day ago, suddenly seem anything but.
The book is peppered with interesting dialogue and characters, like Deepak, the betting syndicate member after Arzee to get his money back, or Phiroz and his daughter, as well as Arzee's mom. However, certain things could have been done without. The hairdresser model girlfriend, who also seems classy, is just too much of a far cry to be believable. The way she falls for this dwarf who is hardly sophisticated, with barely anything said between them, does not make much sense. And the climactic melodrama could have been done without.
However, in spite of these glitches, the book is an arresting read, and should be tried.