Is there is any work of fiction that the world absolutely cannot do without? In fact, do we need fiction at all? Half of What I Say offers a story to answer this. The anti-corruption movement in India has resulted in an important institution called the Lokshakti. Vyas, the Director of the Lokshakti’s Cultural Affairs department, is obsessed with tracking down Ajaya, an obscure banned movie by the late Durga Dhasal, an academic and popular politician killed at the hands of a Lokshakti-controlled mob. Vyas, a long-time admirer of the film-maker, had not only sent Dhasal his unpublished and eponymous novel but learns that Dhasal’s Ajaya has the same basic Ramayana-inspired theme, namely, the havoc a long separation wreaks on a loving couple.
