Debleena Majumdar has worked for over 20 years in leadership roles in Finance, Strategy, and Education across several global firms apart from co-founding Kahaniyah, a company to simplify strategy with data storytelling. Her business articles have been published in Economic Times, Economic Times Prime, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and Your Story. She has also written plays that have been performed in Bengaluru. She has recently come out with the book Sabu: The Remarkable Story of India's First Actor in Hollywood.

I chat with her about her book Sabu, what inspired her to write this book, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello, Debleena! Tell us a bit about yourself!

Like most kids, I had many crazy dreams growing up. At seven, I dreamt of being a librarian, just to be able to spend my days reading books all day. By ten or twelve, my dream was to be an archaeologist, armed with a spade and digging my way to an unknown civilization. By fifteen, I wanted to be either a forensic detective or a mathematician, finding stories and meaning through numbers or in chemicals.

But, strangely, through the twists and turns of life, I find myself close to my childhood dreams. After working for over a decade in Finance and Strategy roles, I moved into entrepreneurship, co-founding a venture called Kahaniyah to help simplify strategy with data-storytelling. I also did a lot of work in Education to enable easier access to and engagement with digital education. Meanwhile, I started contributing articles for Economic Times Prime and my articles were also published in ET, Huffington Post, Business Insider, etc.

And finally, I took the plunge into writing, on finance, on crime and on history. My first book was a whodunit crime fiction called A Marketplace for Murder that questioned the murder of digital identity. Sabu is my second book, again involving deep research. I am writing a children’s book next, that will introduce them to Finance in a fun, storytelling-led way. And I am researching on 1700s Bengal to build historical non-fiction narratives from that.

So yes, despite my crazy dreams, through a mix of entrepreneurship and writing, I am living my story today.

If you could only describe your book ‘Sabu: The Remarkable Story of India's First Actor in Hollywood’ in one sentence, what would it be?

Sabu – the man, the movies, the many reel and real-life roles he played, and the mesmerizing historical backdrop against which he lived his life.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

The readers can expect a short and yet introspective read into the impossible journey the young boy Sabu took from the stables in Mysuru to cinemas, first in the UK and then in Hollywood. They will read about the many curve balls he faced in life and the many hats he donned beyond acting, from conducting a circus act to fighting as a gunner in the World War II for the US, to managing his own business. And through it all, they will read about the history of that time, with the backdrop of India’s freedom movement and the World War II, and how one person’s journey mirrored the momentous events of the time.

What was the moment when the idea of this book first came to be? What made you pursue it?

As many good things do in today’s digital times, it all started with one phone call.

On a serious note, it was a discussion I had with my brilliant literary agent, Mr. Suhail Mathur of The Book Bakers, and noted Bollywood producer, Mr. Sunil Bohra. We were discussing how people today are hardly aware of the fascinating journey of one of India’s first global cinematic icons. That got me thinking. And then, while researching, I came across multiple aspects of his life and the many roles he played in real life, beyond his screen characters. That made it an interesting story, a larger-than-life story of a miraculous journey made by a small boy to reach the heights of Hollywood. And we knew then that it was a story that had to be told.

Please tell us about the research that went into this book.

There were three distinct kinds of research that went into writing this book.

Primarily, of course the research on Sabu’s life, and all the events that happened and the shifts that characterized his journey. For this, I collected every bit of information I could find from every interview he had given, and I also collected information from articles, books, passing reference and more.

I also needed to understand more about the movies and the different concepts of working with live animals, creating fantasy motion pictures during that time, etc. For this, I watched many of the movies, and read their reviews. I looked at the movie posters. I read interviews I could find of the other actors and the directors. And that helped me get a sense of the movies and the characterization.

Finally, and not the least, all of this happened in the backdrop of India’s freedom movement and then later, the World War II. I love historical research. So, I dug up historical references to various events that happened during that time and tried to match it back to a timeline of factors that influenced my character’s life and decisions. That was the most fascinating and enjoyable part, I must say.

Did you face any difficulties while authoring this book or in conducting research for this book? If so, how did you overcome them?

The difficulty was in ensuring that the multiple disparate pieces of research that I had done could be distilled into a timeline based on Sabu’s life decisions, and building all of that into an engaging story. I wanted it to read like an interesting story, not like a list of things which happened. So yes, bringing the storytelling aspect on top of the research was a challenge but it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

I am an introvert and I prefer working alone and online. Given that I work on multiple strategic projects apart from authoring books and contributing articles on business, I got more work done during the pandemic. In fact, I feel I might not be able to return to a world where one needs to be physically present at work. Working remotely also helped me avoid fun-at-work events which always had me searching for excuses earlier. My idea of fun at work, was to be at my work, which I love.

But it is a privilege to be part of the digital economy where work can be done online. I have been doing a lot of work in Education and Skilling and there are still gaping holes in terms of access and parity that we need to keep fixing. And like most families, I went through a terrible ordeal when my parents were afflicted during the second wave of Covid-19. So, there are scars that we will all heal from, together.

In terms of work, my new normal would be to mix up a heady dose of music from Sufi to folk that would play on constant loop, as I would read, write, and solve real problems in the areas I work on. And hope that no one calls me for a fun-at-work event that tears me away from my fun work.

What are you reading currently? Do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I am reading a book called Trillions by Robin Wigglesworth. It is a book on Finance that traces the rise of the Index Funds which changed the Investment Management industry and indeed, the World of Finance forever. It is a must-read for all who love Finance, as I do, those who love the history of Finance, and those who love an intriguing story of different characters that go about making an industry-changing revolution.

I read constantly so my recommendations can just go on and on. So, I will stick to one book each across the genres I research and write on – History, Finance and Crime.

In History, I would recommend The Anarchy by William Dalrymple. It is a brilliant book that tells the tale of the British East India Company in India and how it shapeshifted from the early British trading activities to an empire building mindset.

In Finance, I would recommend The Man Who Solved The Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman. It is a fascinating real story of a mathematician who was one of the early innovators in algorithmic and data-driven trading while delivering outsized returns.

In Crime, I would recommend all books by Keigo Higashino, specially the mind-bending The Devotion of Suspect X, that is a masterclass in learning from the classic whodunit format and how to turn it over on its head.

The book ‘Sabu’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.