“Sometimes love makes you sacrifice everything, just to see someone smile.” When RJ Nilam read out one of the popular lines by author Durjoy Datta, the audience erupted into cheers. The excitement of meeting him had begun long before he even stepped on stage during his recent visit to Kolkata for a discussion, titled ‘Heart and Soul’, at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2024.
The 37-year-old author of 19 books started his journey with Of Course I Love You! when he was 21, while pursuing his degree in mechanical engineering. “I really thought that none in the world was living a better life than I was,” said Durjoy, throwing a shy smile. His first book was a success and marked the beginning of his career as a writer.
‘I am more of a drama writer’
Durjoy is known for his love stories, and the two letters D and A (Durjoy and Avantika, his wife) in the names of his protagonists are a must. He is also known for quirky titles of his books. And his latest is World’s Best Girlfriend. Reflecting on his journey so far, Durjoy shared, “It gives me a lot of joy to create characters, build a world around them and write new books.” While he is one of the bestselling authors in the romance genre, Durjoy considers himself to be more of a drama writer, who weaves tales around plot points and considers himself to be a dramatic person. “I just like building stories, which is why I keep writing,” he further shared.
The author (with RJ Nilam) charmed Kolkata and urged everyone to read his books, citing his 'Bong connection'
‘The dumper and the dumpee will tell you two entirely different stories’
Anyone who has experienced a breakup or is contemplating one will relate to Durjoy’s terms — a dumper and a dumpee. For the author, having a nuanced understanding of relationships is integral. He also finds the evolution of dating vocabulary fascinating. “When I was growing up, our relationship vocab was very limited. You were either single, or had a crush, or you were committed,” recalled Durjoy.
Also making a splash in the celluloid screenplay domain with Never Kiss Your Best Friend as his latest project, Durjoy mostly takes cues from his Bengali roots while crafting his characters. “At least one of my characters has to be a Bengali,” shared the probashi Bangali, who now lives in Dubai with his wife Avantika Mohan and two kids.
The audience could not stop cheering for the Durjoy, looking dapper in black
‘I won’t say trolling never impacted me’
But Durjoy, with age and experience, has learnt to battle what seems like a permanent attribute of social media — trolling. From having mental monologues with the trolls to letting it go, now he prefers focusing more on positive criticisms.
