My father is a hero

My father is a Hero by Nishant Kaushik is about a single father Vaibhav and his daughter Nisha. Nisha is in her school. On one of her birthdays she discovers that she was an unwanted child for her mother and that was the reason why she deserted her father. Since that day Nisha remains withdrawn. It affects her performance at school too. She is a great fan of a pop star called Rihana. Finally after many dramatic incidents she meets her icon and the novel ends.

A single father and his daughter’s relationship was an interesting premise. Unfortunately the plot falls flat. Thanks to the equally flat characters which have no skin, flesh and voice of their own. The novel consumes too much time in Vaibhav’s love-hate relationship with his boss. Sub-characters like Nisha’s teacher who has hots for Vaibhav distract the novel.

But the novel shines towards the end, especially when the father-daughter duo goes to Australia to meet Rihana. Here the novel gathers the much needed pace and linearity. The tension, the disappointments come out very well in this part, which forms only the last few pages of the book. I liked the line, ‘He always knew he would never be able to show her the world. But he did hope he could make those three days mean the world to her.’

The author commits mistakes like describing Vaibhav Kulkarni wearing a veil of flowers in his marriage. Maharashtrian weddings do not have this custom. Such mistakes, though minor, make the story unreal.

So read this book at your own risk