CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 4/5
CLIMAX: 4.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5
In this world of ever-increasing rivalry between humans to compete and succeed, is there any way to determine that the successful do not always cheat to reach where they do?
And, if indeed, it becomes known that one’s path to success is not by fair play, but through cunning and ploy, what steps can one take to culminate this? Is it possible that some “nobody” can bring justice to some “somebody” thorough his own righteous means?
Yes, the author says and convinces us by means of ‘Nazaqat’, a scandalising and scintillating story of evil, greed, lust, money and power.
Nazaqat is perfection. She is a beauty so rare and so exotic that she easily gets what she wants. Money, power, men; you name it, and they are all at her feet, eyeing her like a child eyes his favourite, but out of reach, toy.
One truth about Nazaqat – her profession is prostitution. Naazani Singh Shekhawat is a lonely girl from Dehradun who, after having lived a life of anonymity and desolation, finally finds her calling in the big city life of Delhi.
Her calling is Nazaqat, who she becomes and embraces after meeting an ambitious and opportunist Sharat.
Fast forward many years – Naazani is older now, but more mature and somewhere within her, Nazaqat is now dead. What more? She has been recently accused of murdering her close friend Biplab.
And as if that was not enough, she had also recently declared to launch a petition to completely legalize prostitution in India. As a result, she is constantly in media headlines and making news by the dozens.
But rich and famous as she is, she needs someone to immortalize her, someone to narrate her story to the world. She finds that someone in Mathews, a struggling writer who many years earlier had interviewed Nazaqat.
So what will Mathews discover? Why did Nazaqat become who she did and what was her motive in doing so? Where is she now? Who killed Biplab and why?
You will discover all this and much more in this provocative tale of high paced drama and emotions, as Nazaqat opens herself in a ten-night series of rendezvous with Mathews.
‘Nazaqat’ is written beautifully with the characters, the drama and the action woven so intricately yet so vividly. The suspense continues right until the end, and I am sure that while discovering the climax you will definitely have the expression “I did not see that coming”.
The language used is rich, and the author is successful in creating an aura around Nazaqat that will captivate and seduce a reader right till the end.
Though the book is very good, there is definitely scope for improvements; for one, the reasons behind Nazaqat’s intentions were not convincing enough for me.
I believe with experience the writer will definitely emerge as a one to look forward to. I wish the author very best for her future endeavours and recommend this book to all my readers.
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