Sonali and the sunset

Actress Sonali Kulkarni is super excited. Her first Marathi book 'So Kool' is set to hit the bookstores by the end of this month. "So Kool is my nickname and also my attitude towards life," says Sonali. She tells CS more about going in print:


WHO: Actor Sonali Kulkarni
WHAT: Talking about her new book 'So Kool'
WHERE: Versova beach

Literary aspirations
I have aspired to write for more than 10 years now. Finally, I am becoming a full-fledged writer with this book. I was shocked when Rajhans Publications told me that they have been reading my Marathi articles regularly and wanted to publish them in a book. Though I have been writing for quite a while, I never had the courage to go up to any publisher. This is a dream come true.

Nervous excitement
Writing was one of my passions, but now I have realised how serious it is. I have been reading, re-editing, compiling, doing spell checks on all my articles to present them in the best possible manner. Marathi is my mother tongue. But many people have approached me for translating it into Hindi, English, Gujarati and other languages. I never expected such a response.u00a0

Writing for me
I have been writing for a number of Marathi dailies and magazines as guest editor or as a columnist. My topics are pretty diverse, ranging from bomb blasts to youth-centric issues or leisure pieces on food, travel and so on. I write short stories, articles, columns, as well as poetry. Writing makes me a complete person. I prefer emailing or smsing to talking as it's more precise.
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Pretty on paper
I am a complete kagaz and kalam writer. Watching each sentence flowing out on paper is a very lyrical experience in itself. I have a lovely collection of fountain pens, ball-points, writing pads and other stuff. My letterhead is also very carefully designed. For me, writing on paper has more life and spice.u00a0

My favourite writers
Vijay Tendulkar, the playwright is an all-time favourite. I also love Gauri Deshpande, Kusumagraj, Soumitra in Marathi literature. Herman Hesse's Siddhartha and Khalid Hosseini's Kite Runner are my favourite English novels. Recently, I read a novel 'You Can Heal Your Life' by Louis L Hay, and it's been a life-changing experience for me.u00a0