While he has already written many novels prior to this, Mukul Deva’s latest novel “RIP” was his first book I read. The synopsis promised a highly engaging plot and an equally engaging read. Let us see whether the novel delivers as promised or falls flat.
In a present day India
And so the team divides into groups and expertly kills three people – who were close relatives of three politicians involved in few corrupt scams. Calling themselves the “Resurgent Indian Patriots” or RIP, they take up the responsibility of the three murders and publically declare that unless the prime minister takes immediate action against the corrupt ministers, three more murders of important corrupt people will follow in the next three days.
And thus begins a chase between the RIP team and the CBI. We also have another team appointed by a minister led by Raghav Bharat – bearing an old grudge against Colonel Krishna.
How the K team swiftly executes those three more murders despite being trailed by two teams is the main plot of the novel.
PLOT
The plot is definitely a brilliant one. It has all the ingredients necessary for a racy thriller novel. We are always kept on the run by the happenings of the book. The biggest strength is perhaps the realistic treatment of the book. And so we have Sheila Kaul also known as “MADAM” who was the widow of india
There are many other such subtle references to A. Raja of the 2G scam. We also have an activist called Arvind Hazarika who is fasting unto death demanding the Lokpal bill to be passed.
CHARACTERS
We take an instant liking to Colonel Krishna’s character. In fact, the work their team does is definitely wrong and illegal. But being aware of the present corruption scene, our heart begs us to accept their actions, thus making them actually heroes in our minds. Here is a group who kills not for any gain, but for a good purpose.
NDTV news reporter Reena Bhagat’s character is like a whiff of fresh air. The romance track between Reena and Krishna is handled with utmost gentleness and never goes overboard, thus helping us to keep our focus on the main plot and not getting distracted or diverted by the romantic track.
Raghav’s character is grey and we instantly dislike him. The hate chemistry between him and Krishna is very raw and well written.
WRITING
Mukul Deva is definitely a damn smart writer, and it is evident from the way he creates characters with real references as I mentioned before. We get a sense of real happenings. And that helps even more.
The climax of the book (quite a long one actually) unfolds at neck break speed with a very confusing yet gripping chase sequence. It reminds you of those Priyadashan movies where the end depicts a total chaos and confusion filled chase. However this one is much more sensible and logical compared to the senseless Priyadarshan movies.
Ultimately we reach the nail biting end which keeps us guessing till the end what exactly will happen. The end was well done and would appeal to the readers.
OVERALL, RIP is a brilliant book, well written and intelligent. The situations created are totally authentic and the killings planned and professional. It is clear that the author takes pain to create a sophisticated and real product, and not an amatueurish thriller.
RIP is a book which will definitely appeal to those who ove fast paced thrillers. The synopsis on the last page has a line which says – “RIP will keep you turning pages late into the night.”
Well, that is exactly what it did to me!
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