Doctors thriller to unfold on celluloid

CHENNAI: When a cardiologist decides to pick up the pen, one of two things normally happens – either a detailed and inevitably mundane case report is filed or a textbook is written on matters of the heart that have nothing to do with feelings. H S Rissam is the man who added a third dimension to that equation, the author of what was touted as South Asia’s first medical thriller from within the industry, The Scalpel – Game Beneath. It is surprising that Rissam managed to find the time to write a 321-page bestseller. “I don’t really waste too much time on socialising and gatherings,” says the unassuming cardiologist, who is a Padma Shri awardee. “And besides, this is a lifetime’s worth of experience in the medical profession.” Scalpel is a telling look into the underbelly of crime that tied into the medical profession and made it a thriving business. Set against the backdrop of a fictitious seven-star multi-speciality hospital in New Delhi that harvested every organ in the human body and transplanted them in foreigners, it really shook doctors when it was released. “I had even included a list of organs and the price they were sold at, like a rate card, in one of the chapters,” says Rissam.Needless to say, there was quite a buzz when the book was released in 2010. “People kept saying that there would be a backlash, but I actually had doctors come up to me and congratulate me for having exposed these things,” he says.How much of it is fact and how much fiction? “If fact is a fire and fiction is the smoke around it, what I’ve done is create a lot of smoke,” he states cryptically.    But all this is in the past, considering the book was launched two years ago. What is he up to now? “Well, I’m still an extremely busy cardiologist with a thriving practice,” he laughs. In the city to inaugurate a seminar at the Sri Ramachandra University, he reveals his plans on the literary front. “After the success of Scalpel, I decided to carry on with my plan to make it the first of a trilogy. The second book has been written and is ready to go.” The reason he’s holding back from publishing the second book is because there’s every chance that Scalpel will unfold on celluloid. “Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who produced the Munnabhai MBBS movies, will most probably be taking over the project after he completes Ferrari Ki Sawaari. Hopefully, once the movie is made the book series will see a spike in sales,” he says, laughing heartily. “If it can work for Chetan Bhagat it can work for me.” And what if he isn’t happy about the way things work out with the movie? “I’m no good as a script writer. I’m very old fashioned and write by hand (mimics writing action) on the back of prescriptions, cards and anything else I can find! If I don’t like the way the movie comes out, then I’ll sue Chopra for `50-100 crore quite happily,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.