An Evening in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Deborah Moggach, BAFTA nominated author and script writer, talks to novelist Jaishree Misra on Episode 43 of BIC Talks. This is a part of the #WorldLit series of conversations in collaboration with the Bangalore Literature Festival.

Did you know that Deborah Moggach’s book These Foolish Things was based in Bangalore? This was made into the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and became Jaipur’s gain! Deborah talks to Jaishree about this book, its screen adaptation and what it involved to. They also discuss Deborah’s screenplay adapting Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the 2005 film starring Kiera Knightley, for which Deborah was nominated for a BAFTA. They go on to discuss other successful books like Tulip Fever and The Carer and what it means to be the ‘invisible’ writer behind successful movies and TV dramas.

Deborah Moggach has written 20 novels, many of which she adapted into TV dramas. She has also written short stories, screenplays and a stage play. Her latest novel, The Carer, was published in 2019. An OBE and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, she lives in London and Wales. You can find links to all her books here.

Jaishree Misra has written eight novels published by Penguin and HarperCollins, including the best-selling Ancient Promises and Rani. Her most recent book is a light non-fiction account of building a writer’s studio by the sea in Kerala. She is currently on a writing sabbatical and on the board of Vahani Scholarships. Read more about her here.

For more on science behind the Tulip fever, do listen to Episode #19 of BIC Talks with Pranay Lal: Virus Rhapsody.

More BIC Talks episodes from the BIC-BLF #WorldLit series:

#24 Novels and Writers are Here to Stay (with Chetan Bhagat)

#29 Japan and the Writer’s Life (with Pico Iyer and Samanth Subramanian)

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