Delhi stopover by Tulika Mehrotra

Completed "Delhi stopover" debut novel of Tulika Mehrotra. This book is published by Penguin Metro Reads in 2012 and has 393 pages.

Lila, an American of Indian origin, is a struggling actress in USA playing inconsequential roles. She is frustrated because her career is going nowhere and because her fiancee does not respect her profession. She decides to break her engagement and heads for India for a much needed vacation.

She accompanies her cousin for assisting to dress up models for a fashion show and ends up being a last minute replacement model. Fate draws her in the Delhi fashion world although she is not thin or anorexic. In a matter of days she becomes a professional model doing advertisements.

Will she remain in India? Will she remain a model or become an actress? Will she reunite with her fiancé?

The artificial world of fashion. Free use of booze, drugs and sex. The dirty and cut throat competition. Uncertainties and insecurities. One sided contracts. Abilities to make or break careers. All these facts about fashion world make the book colorful.

Tulika has written OK for a first timer. She has used the backdrop of fashion industry for the story. However what has happened is that the fashion industry has taken over the story and the story has taken a back seat. It may be either because the story is weak or the author has not taken enough efforts to develop it.

After about half way mark, the story goes into tailspin. Author seems to have lost control. Many illogical things happen. Readers are confused as to what is author is trying to convey. Author has found it very difficult to try to converge and close the story.

Lila's character comes out as shallow girl who does not know what she wants. Even the readers are not sure what is happening between her and Arman. Romantic angle with Dev remains an open point. It remains unexplained why her cousin mourns death of her father so much?

I took me six months to complete reading this book and could complete it only through sheer determination, otherwise I would have abandoned it.

AVOID.