Diksha Basu

2021-04-29T19:30:59Z

38.122.121.58:

{{short description|Indian American writer and actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}{{Use Indian English|date=November 2020}}

'''Diksha Basu''' is an [[Indian American]]<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=Patel|first=Naheed|date=14 August 2017|title='Readers Are No Longer Looking for Only the Exotic Indian or the Immigrant Novel'|url=https://thewire.in/books/interview-diksha-basu-the-windfall|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref> writer and actor.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last=Bakshi|first=Asmita|date=29 May 2017|title="When I started writing, I Felt Freed"|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/supplement/story/20170529-diksha-basu-writer-986447-2017-05-19|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref> She is the author of the critically acclaimed novel ''The Windfall'' which is under adaptation for a television series by [[Shonali Bose]].<ref name=":82">{{Cite web|last=Deng|first=Audrey|date=25 June 2020|title=Diksha Basu '14 Releases Second Novel, 'Destination Wedding'|url=https://arts.columbia.edu/news/diksha-basu-14-releases-second-novel-destination-wedding|access-date=2020-11-21|website=[[Columbia University School of the Arts]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Roy|first=Gitanjali|date=14 March 2017|title=Shonali Bose Will Direct New TV Series Based On Novel About Delhi's Noveau Riche - NDTV Movies|url=https://movies.ndtv.com/television/shonali-bose-will-direct-new-tv-series-based-on-novel-about-delhis-noveau-riche-1669308|access-date=2020-11-21|website=[[NDTV|NDTVMovies]]|language=en}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Diksha Basu was born in [[Delhi]],<ref name=":23">{{Cite web|title=Diksha Basu - Author Overview|url=https://harpercollins.co.in/author-details/diksha-basu/|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[HarperCollins Publishers]]}}</ref> to the sociologist [[Alaka Malwade Basu]] and economist [[Kaushik Basu]],<ref name=":12" /> who later became the [[Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India]] and then the [[Chief Economist]] at the [[World Bank]].<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":33">{{Cite web|last=Rathnam|first=Shilpa|last2=Rege|first2=Prachi|last3=Bari|first3=Nishant|last4=Kumaraswami|first4=Lakshmi|last5=Sharma|first5=Avantika|date=30 January 2012|title=CEC Kaushik Basu's daughter Diksha busy chasing B'wood dreams|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/20120130-chief-economic-advisor-kaushik-basu-daughter-author-diksha-basu-757065-2012-01-20|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref> She grew up in Delhi during the 1990s till the age of 10.<ref name=":92">{{Cite web|last=Kohli|first=Diya|date=2017-07-22|title=Diksha Basu: The joke’s on everyone|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/lFboiyf0JpM8oknFT1ClJM/Diksha-Basu-The-jokes-on-everyone.html|access-date=2020-11-21|website=[[Livemint]]|language=en}}</ref> She moved to [[Ithaca, New York]] in 1994,<ref name=":42">{{Cite web|last=Aggarwal-Schifellite|first=Manisha|date=2017-06-26|title=An Ex-Bollywood Actress Challenges Indian Stereotypes With Her Debut Novel|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/books/news/a46225/the-windfall-diksha-basu-interview/|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[ELLE]]|language=en-US}}</ref> as a teenager with her family.<ref name=":02" /> Basu states that after moving to [[upstate New York]], she would keep visiting Delhi every 4 to 6 months.<ref name=":52">{{Cite web|last=Arora|first=Naina|date=2017-08-03|title=Author Diksha Basu says Gurgaon lanes look straight out of Desperate Housewives|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/author-diksha-basu-says-gurgaon-lanes-look-straight-out-of-desperate-housewives/story-I18kEeHIAoeBGbVloH5u1O.html|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en}}</ref> She eventually graduated from [[Cornell University]] with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in economics,<ref name=":02" /> and in the [[French language]] as part of a double major.<ref name=":33" />

In 2008,<ref name=":62">{{Cite web|last=Mehta|first=Shweta|date=2012-01-08|title='My life’s not interesting enough'|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/my-life-s-not-interesting-enough/story-U1vIwtZQpZAzAFERwgYLbL.html|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en}}</ref> she moved to [[Mumbai]] to pursue a career in acting,<ref name=":33" /> and lived in the city for four years.<ref name=":23" /> She featured in the comedy series ''[[Mumbai Calling]]'' (2007) and in the drama film ''[[A Decent Arrangement]]'' (2011).<ref name=":33" /><ref name=":62" /> Basu states that she became frustrated with her acting career and began writing as an escape after spending two years in the [[Bollywood]] industry. Her debut novel ''Opening Night'' was published by [[HarperCollins]] and launched in 2012 by [[Chetan Bhagat]].<ref name=":62" /> The novel depicted the struggles of an American-born actor who moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting.<ref name=":62" /> It was described as a deeply personalised non autobiographical work of literary fiction.<ref name=":103">{{Cite news|last=Bakshi|first=Asmita|date=29 May 2017|title=The Traveller's Tale|work=[[India Today]]|url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/india-today/20170529/283850098297974|via=[[Pressreader]]}}</ref>

Basu joined the [[Columbia University School of the Arts]] to attain a [[Master of Fine Arts]] in [[creative writing]], from where she graduated in 2014.<ref name=":82" /><ref name=":103" /> She also featured in the memory film ''A Million Rivers'' (2017).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ramnath|first=Nandini|date=1 February 2017|title=The things we do not and cannot say flow through arthouse film ‘A Million Rivers’|url=https://scroll.in/reel/828209/the-things-we-do-not-and-cannot-say-flow-through-arthouse-film-a-million-rivers|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[Scroll.in]]|language=en-US}}</ref> In the meantime, she married the music producer [[Mikey McCleary]] and gave birth to her daughter in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vora|first=Shivani|date=2017-06-30|title=How Diksha Basu, a Novelist, Spends Her Sundays (Published 2017)|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/nyregion/how-diksha-basu-a-novelist-spends-her-sundays.html|access-date=2020-11-21|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her second novel ''The Windfall'' was also published and launched in the same year,<ref name=":92" /> it was a humourous fiction marketed as a debut novel and depicted the life of a middle class Indian man who had suddenly encountered wealth.<ref name=":72">{{Cite news|last=Guha|first=Keshava|date=2017-07-22|title=Ambitious but ill-equipped|language=en-IN|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/ambitious-but-ill-equipped/article19324919.ece|access-date=2020-11-21|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> It received positive critical acclaim and was signed in for a deal to be adapted into a television series.<ref name=":52" /><ref name=":82" /> According to [[ELLE magazine|''ELLE'' magazine]], it broke stereotypes of exoticism surrounding India while according to [[The Wire (India)|''The Wire'']], it was a "shrewd and unstintingly funny story about the neuroses of New Delhi’s 1%".<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":42" /> ''[[The Hindu]]'' gave it a mixed review objecting at its lack of nuance and inaccuracies in social and cultural depictions.<ref name=":72" />

In 2020, she published her third novel, ''Destination Wedding.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ghosh|first=Devarsi|title=Diksha Basu’s ‘Destination Wedding’ is a funny but sensitive look at old money and new India|url=https://scroll.in/article/967175/diksha-basus-destination-wedding-is-a-funny-but-sensitive-look-at-old-money-and-new-india|access-date=2021-04-26|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref> It is a humorous take on a modern Indian wedding with characters who travel from New York to attend the ceremony. The family at the center of the novel is wealthy and has American sensibilities that are often at odds with traditional Indian customs. This causes them to question their identity and belonging to both cultures. The novel has received a ton of praise. Actress and model [[Chrissy Teigen]] even said that she was "extremely obsessed with this book."

== Books ==

* ''Opening Night'' (2012)
* ''The Windfall'' (2017)
* ''Destination Wedding'' (2020)

==References==
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women writers of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

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Diksha Basu