A graduate of the Royal Court’s writing course, Sharmila Chauhan was shortlisted for the Asian New Writer award. Sharmila’s themes are love, sex and the diasporic experience.
Her short film Oysters and Girl Like You were commissioned by Film London, and Make and Model (a sci-art collaboration) is also in production. She was part of the Film London-Cinestan Microschool where she developed her feature Heart of the City.
Her plays include: The Husbands (an exploration of polyandry and matriarchy in India) / and Born Again Purnajanam. She is working on her novel Seven Mirror and is Artist in Residence at the Tagore Centre London.
Background
Sharmila Chauhan’s parents were both born on the African continent “And so we are twice-migrants. My mum was born in Lusaka, Rhodesia (now Zambia) and my father was born in Kericho, Kenya.”
Sharmila was born in London at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.
Early influences
She remembers; “My father singing along to Rafi in the car – imbibing the melancholy. My mother’s stash of 70s vinyl at the back of the coat cupboard: Beatles, Elvis, Bob Marley. My parents didn’t watch a lot of Bollywood – my mother’s stance on the female roles was quietly feminist and I absorbed that. Occasionally some tragic, black and white film would come to pass. I watched religious films like Ram Weds Sita (if anyone has a copy of that I would love to see it again!) as much as Hollywood black and whites that I watched with my mother. I read A LOT – European classics such as Jane Austen and Daphne Du Maurier. I was searching for experiences that I could relate to culturally (the morals of period dramas were reassuringly Asian). I read Salman, Hanif and Anita Desai. I was influenced by the music of Prince –the artistic, cultural and sexual freedom he embodied. “
Early challenges
“As an artist I’ve had to find my own path to creativity from the outside. Both my parents were in the medical field – my mother a nurse and my father a pharmacist. Financial security was the most important thing, as well as a good education. I was blessed to be good at Science and English – at that age I probably would have succeeded in either path. I chose science – it seemed the most interesting and academically challenging. I wanted to help people and having worked in my father’s pharmacy from age 13 – I felt that would be the most rewarding way to do so,” Sharmila reveals.
The way in which Sharmila became a writer
She tells us, “after working as a pharmacist, I returned to school to complete a PhD in clinical pharmacology. Whilst writing my dissertation, a long term relationship was coming to an end and conventional life paths seemed claustrophobic. I had always been writing but during this time I got the urge to document and channel what I was going through. I was conscious about the lack of stories about the British Asian experience. I started to write a novel – called Devi – which like many first pieces, was autobiographical.”
Turning point
“After my PhD, I travelled for a year and moved to France to do my post-doc. It was an amazing but lonely time: I spoke no French and had also embarked on a long-distance relationship with my now husband Courttia Newland – also a writer. Being out there alone gave me time to write and complete my novel. On my return to London I decided that if I was serious about writing I would have to choose between science or writing. I chose writing and have never regretted that decision.”
Sharmila’s Biggest Challenges
“Having confidence in yourself as an artist. I was once told: if you write, you are a writer. It took me several years to profess myself as a writer and in doing so – enable others take me seriously. Having a strong mindset, determination and tenacity has helped me through times when a project has taken a long time to come to fruition. I’ve learnt to be patient and flexible: if one thing isn’t ‘working’ right now – then it’s an opportunity to try something else! My non-creative background has given me discipline and life experience that helps me as an artist. Having belief and faith is paramount.
However, Sharmila reveals the sad truth that afflicts so many full time writers. “Although I make an income from my writing I do have to supplement this with a day job as a medical writer.”
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"My non-creative background has given me discipline"
