UpdateBot at 17:34, 16 April 2022

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{{Short description|2013 novel by Sachin Kundalkar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Cobalt Blue
| image = File:Cobalt Blue (novel).jpg
| caption = First English edition
| author = [[Sachin Kundalkar]]
| country = India
| language = English
| genre = Fiction<br>Drama
| publisher = [[Penguin Books]]
| release_date = May 2013
| media_type = Print (Paperback)
| pages = 399
| isbn = 9351187012
}}

'''''Cobalt Blue''''' is a 2013 fictional drama novel by Indian film director, screenwriter and playwright [[Sachin Kundalkar]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/translation-tuesdays-by-asymptote-journal/2016/aug/02/translation-tuesday-cobalt-blue-by-sachin-kundalkar-extract|title=Translation Tuesday: Cobalt Blue by Sachin Kundalkar – extract|last=Kundalkar|first=Sachin|work=The Guardian|date=2 August 2016|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> It was the debut novel of Kundalkar and first published in 2006 in [[Marathi language]], it was re-released in English in 2013 with translation by [[Jerry Pinto]]. The story follows two siblings, Tanay and Anuja, who fall in love with their paying guest at their house in [[Pune]].<ref name=mint>{{cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/d9OdyE731GogsNKqLJTB8M/Book-Review--Cobalt-Blue.html|title=Book Review: Cobalt Blue|last=Ghoshal|first=Somak|work=Mint|date=11 May 2013|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> The novel deals with the theme of sexuality, family and society.<ref name=mint/>

==Development==
Kundalkar wrote ''Cobalt Blue'' right after he had shifted to Mumbai at the age of 22. He said he had "nothing else to do" so he started writing Tanay's monologue and later Anuja's.<ref name=tie>{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/hindi-cinema-cares-only-about-numbers-sachin-kundalkar-5084627/|title=Hindi cinema cares only about numbers: Sachin Kundalkar|last=Sahani|first=Alaka|work=The Indian Express|date=4 March 2018|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> He started writing it at age 20 and finished it at 22.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/best-young-writers/817825/0|title=Best Young Writers|first1=Premankur|last1=Biswas|first2=Sushant|last2=Kulkarni|first3=Nandini|last3=Nair |first4=Ashutosh|last4=Bhardwaj|date=17 July 2011|work=The Indian Express|accessdate=11 September 2012}}</ref> He then showed it to his friends who said it was a novel. It was later published in 2006 in Marathi language. In 2013, Jerry Pinto read the novel after [[Shanta Gokhale]] insisted him to read and liked it. He then served as the novel's English translator.<ref name=tie/> Kundalkar said that he read the manuscript of Pinto's version, "I realised that it was very organically done. It was not technically correct. It was emotionally correct."<ref name=tie/> Pinto said that he read the novel to his Marathi teacher after translating it for suggestions. He then also read it to Gokhale and finally to Kundalkar after her approval over the language.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/Translation-is-the-noblest-failure-Jerry-Pinto/article14619998.ece|title=Translation is the noblest failure: Jerry Pinto|last=Rosario|first=Kennith|work=The Hindu|date=2 September 2016|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref>

==Reception==
Somak Ghoshal of ''[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]'' said in his review, "with its complex narrative design and daring imagination, [the novel] easily surpasses most English-language fiction that has appeared in India so far this year."<ref name=mint/> Joanna Lobo of ''[[Daily News and Analysis]]'' wrote: ''Cobalt Blue'' is a book that will engulf you when you are reading it, and haunt you much after you're done." She also called Kundalkar’s observations on life as "sharp and witty."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-cobalt-blue-1833501|title=Book review: 'Cobalt Blue'|last=Lobo|first=Joanna|work=Daily News and Analysis|date=12 May 2013|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> Sandip Roy of [[Firstpost]] said that the novel "raises provocative questions about the power of love and the many way one transgresses in its name."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/a-brother-sister-and-paying-guest-cobalt-blue-explores-transgressions-of-love-784035.html|title=A brother, sister and paying guest: Cobalt Blue explores transgressions of love|last=Roy|first=Sandip|publisher=Firstpost|date=15 May 2013|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref>

A review carried by ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' wrote: "In his debut novel, Kundalkar combines two distinct and complementary voices to deliver a complex and intricate story about love, family, and making one’s own path."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781620971758|title=Cobalt Blue|work=Publishers Weekly|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> Saaz Aggarwal of ''[[The Hindu]]'' called it a "high-quality coming-of-age novel" that explores the "discovery, resulting confusion, and bravado of homosexuality in a hostile environment."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/family-matters/article4985434.ece|title=Family matters|last=Aggarwal|first=Saaz|work=The Hindu|date=3 August 2018|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> Author [[Kamila Shamsie]] wrote: "A mesmerizing novel of heartbreak, memory, and the ease of falling in love set against the impossibility of fully knowing other people."<ref name=new>{{cite news|url=https://thenewpress.com/books/cobalt-blue|title=Cobalt Blue|publisher=[[The New Press]]|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref>

[[Anita Desai]] called the novel "intriguing and original".<ref name=new/> [[Janice Pariat]] wrote: "Kundalkar’s writing is masterful in its play of voice, capturing through his characters the claustrophobia of a small town, their longing to escape a middle class existence, and how love, and being in love, has the ability to transform every small detail from the mundane to the magnificent."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/804094/why-we-dont-and-why-we-do-need-a-lgbtq-label-for-fiction|title=Why we don’t (and why we do) need a LGBTQ label for fiction|last=Pariat|first=Janice|publisher=[[Scroll.in]]|date=25 February 2016|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref>

==Adaptation==
In November 2018, it was announced that the novel will be adapted into a feature film of [[Cobalt Blue (film)|the same name]] for [[Netflix]]. It has been written and directed by Kundalkar<ref>{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/netflix-india-slate-movies-tv-priyanka-chopra-baahubali-1202498767/|title=Netflix Unveils More Originals For India Market; Sets ‘Hotel Mumbai’ Regional Release, Priyanka Chopra-Produced Pic|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|publisher=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=8 November 2018|accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref> and was scheduled for streaming on the platform starting December 3, 2021, but was postponed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/cobalt-blue-movie-104511|title=Cobalt Blue|last=|first=|publisher=[[ndtv]]|date=20 November 2021|accessdate=20 November 2021}}</ref> It was released finally on 2 April 2022.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14760312-cobalt-blue Cobalt Blue] at [[Goodreads]]

[[Category:2013 Indian novels]]
[[Category:Indian bildungsromans]]
[[Category:Novels set in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian English-language novels]]
[[Category:2010s LGBT novels]]
[[Category:Gay male teen fiction]]
[[Category:Indian novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:2013 debut novels]]
[[Category:Penguin Books books]]

Cobalt Blue novel - Revision history

UpdateBot at 17:34, 16 April 2022