Siya Seth Decides to Die by Sneha Mehta

Siya Seth has committed suicide. After her death, she decides to bare it all, telling the world her story. Siya, a school girl [17 years of age] was a victim of parental abuse since she was 8. Though she tries doing everything possible to gain her some peace and comfort, her hidden secrets keep haunting her, not letting her rest, driving her over the edge at the end. 

Review of Siya Seth Decides to Die...Pages 255. Rs 100

Publisher- Diamond Books, Delhi

When i 1st read the title, i was taken aback. Made me wonder if the author had been inspired by Paulo Coelho's Veronica Decides to Die, but as i read through, i realised this is fairly different.  

The opening lines -

“Life sucked me dry. I felt like a diagonally parked car in a parallel universe. People rolled up, collided, had accidents, and recovered; while I lay bruised. externally and internally. Seen and unseen. I committed suicide. For my own good.”

had me engrossed.. Though i kind of knew where the story was headed, i was curious to see how Sneha's novel would be... 

Siya seems to be a a regular teenage rebel, one who is very bold, and yet on other hand she is coming to terms with adulthood, trying to deal with changes in her physical appearance and inside of her. She goes on with life, with only a best friend- Reva.  

Although she has it all, Siya does not seem to live in peace. There is something that is haunting her, giving her sleepless nights and endless nightmares. She even dates the good looking Randeep, which does not sit well with her best friend Reva. She bunks school, bribes a policeman in Marine Lines, bluffs her way through the day, visits a man who is proficient in Past life related issues, who claims to heal her soul for just Rs999. But, none of this seems to help... And we, the readers wonder why?!

Siya is a depressed teenager who has a dark secret buried deep inside her heart. She is depressed, lonely and sad. She is also stinking rich, an only child and has servants attending to her day in and day out, so nobody can understand why a filthy rich and good looking teenager could be miserable. As readers we do know it has to do something with her dark secret.

No prizes for guessing what Siya’s dark secret is..you will know it if you have read the blurb on the back cover of the book, or if you read through the 1st 50 odd pages.  The book starts off strong, but after a while makes us wonder where it is headed. Siya takes her own sweet time in revealing the truth, and what was really going on in her life, and why she committed suicide. 

The abuse, the victim and the culprit, the emotions running high and the society's role in all of this could have been highlighted better. I felt the plot kind of fizzled out after a point, and the extent of Siya's trauma dint come through the pages.  Also, there were quite a bit of grammatical errors and typos here and there, which the author and editor should spend time in polishing! 

But hats off to Sneha for taking such a sensitive and prevailing issue and attempting to bring it out to the world!

About the Author

Sneha Mehta is a student of organizational psychology and a freelance writer. 

[Movie] Achchamundu Achchamundu

Debutant director: Arun Vaidyanathan

Cast: Prasanna, Sneha, John Shea; 

Music: Karthik Raja; 

 Achchamundu Achchamundu  is a one of a kind movie, infact i dont think i've seen any other on this subject made in the Tamil movie industry!!  What is it about you ask ? its about child abuse and paedophiles!!! Yes.. no, dont shirk away and say "Chee, i aint gonna watch this movie"... You need to... Its a kind of an eye opener for people who think anybody who smiles and is nice to their child is simply being loving and caring.. yes, most people are, biut there are the other kind who we ignore.. or are unaware of!!

Set in New Jersey, its the story of Senthil Kumar (Prasanna), and his happy lamily-- wife Malini (Sneha) and child Rithika [Akshaya]. They have all acted well, except most scenes the accent and style portrayed seems very fake and just doesnt sit well with the audience. During the first half hour, i kinda got bored, the movie seemed to be in bits and pieces, untill it progressed eventually giving us no clues where it was headed...

This is where, a painter Robinson (John Shea) enters the story, he is a psychotic paedophile[For those who dont know the meaning, pls click on link -- they are people who lust affer children.and sexually abuse them]  . The minute he agrees to paint their basement for a throwaway price of $1000, the couple trust him with not just their home, but the security code to their home alarm system. He is sweet towards Rithika, and so she spends time with him unaware of his ulterior motives.. Through the movie, there are subtle hints here and there on Robinson's character.. A child is shown tied up in the boot of his car, another boy goes missing after Robinson gets him an ice cream, but because of his external portrayal, he gets away with it!! 

Meanwhile, Malini gets pregnant and it is time for Senthil to go to Florida for a conference, but the night before that he spots a thief of sorts trying to attack his house. He then takes Malini's fears seriously, cancels his trip and decides to stay put at home with his family [ figuring that is the only way to protect them] . 

Unable to resist further, Robinson decides to make his move into their home, and  how Senthil saves his family from the clutches of the psychotic child abuser forms the climax.

Arun Vaidyanathan has to be applauded for choosing such a sensitive theme. and presenting it well. Not in one scene do we feel wierd or disturbed.. Towards the end, there are news /newspaper clippings, and statistics on Child abuse across the world shown on the screen...

The movie is not gripping or has some mind blowing scenes, nor have the actors been utilised to their max, but  the way the director handles his theme leaves much to be desired.!!