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Bilal Siddiqi's The Bard of Blood, now a Netflix series starring Emraan Hashmi, packs in everything you expect from a high-stakes spy thriller. The author helps us read between the lines

-  Rukma Saluja

At the risk of generalising, most people fond of reading imagine becoming an author themselves one day. However, this dream actually takes shape for only a select few.

That's what happened with Mumbai-based Bilal Siddiqui who became a published author at the age of 20 in 2015 when Penguin picked up his manuscript, The Bard of Blood.

Shah Rukh Khan read the novel and tweeted (Congrats @BilalS158 on your first book at 20, #TheBardOfBlood. It's awesome my boy) about it. “To have someone of the stature of Shah Rukh tweet about my book was a high,” Bilal said in a freewheeling chat with THE MAN.

SRK found enough merit in it to take the idea forward with Netflix. Gaurav Varma and SRK, the producers of the show, along with Bilal, pitched what is known as a 'Bible', a detailed presentation, to Netflix. Always on the lookout for good and original content, discussions were soon underway with the global streaming platform. The seven-part series went live on September 27.

“I was excited, of course,” said Bilal. “But nervous too as they didn't react immediately.” Having devoured spy thrillers as a teenager, which he would hide between textbooks and at the bottom of his bag to avoid detection and punishment, Bilal wanted to write an Indian story in the genre. Between studying, interning, and writing blogs for KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), he started working on his own novel. He wasn't thinking of getting published at this stage. He just had a story to tell that was bursting to be put down.

In the first of a series of lucky breaks, Bilal was interning with Hussain Zaidi (Phantom starring Saif Ali Khan is an adaptation of his book Mumbai Avengers) and researching material for his writing. This gentleman became Bilal's mentor and guide through the penning down of