The Actor A Novel

This story is set in a time in India-a time in the future-when religion becomes more important than politics.’

Superstar Amit Singh’s life is in disarray: Three of his films have flopped, his marriage is falling apart, and his fans are drifting away. A sudden call from his childhood friend Naresh Khanna offers an unexpected reprieve. Naresh hopes to start a new political party committed to the ideals of secularism, plurality, and free speech, and urges Amit to join him.

Alongside Naresh and the discerning journalist Maya-whom Amit is instantly drawn to-the actor finds himself in the thick of campaigning and advocacy, as well as intrigue and slander. What begins as an attempt to save himself from the ignominy of failure quickly turns into an education in politics, history and a nation-building trauma, as minorities face systemic exclusion under an increasingly theocratic regime.

Will Amit emerge unscathed, with his reputation and integrity intact? Or will the mask he had once assumed as an actor become his face? A sharp political drama by Tavleen Singh-one of India’s best-known and most incisive journalists-The Actor holds up an unflinching mirror to our times.