Ram, Anandhi, and Co

Book Review

Title: Ram C/o Anandhi

Author: Akhil P Dharmajan

Translator: Haritha C K

Publisher: HarperCollins India, 2025

Pages: 303

The author tells us in his prefatory note that “this (is) a cinematic novel.” Don’t read it as literary work but imagine it as a movie. That is exactly how this novel feels like: an action-packed thriller.

The story revolves around Ram, a young man who lands in Chennai for joining a diploma course in film making, and Anandhi, receptionist of Ram’s college. Then there are their friends: Vetri and his half-sister Reshma, and Malli who is a transgender. An old woman, who is called Paatti (grandmother) by everyone and is the owner of the house where three of the characters live, has an enviably thrilling role in the plot.  

In one of the first chapters, Ram and Anandhi lock horns over a trifle. That leads to some farcical action which agitates Paatti’s bees which in turn fly around stinging everyone. Malli, the aruvani (transgender), saves the narrative from becoming mere slapstick comedy in those initial pages. Through the character of Malli, the novelist endeavours to give us insightful glimpses into the lives of certain transgenders known as aruvanis in Tamil Nadu. The novel acquires some depth because of Malli and her transgender sorority.

The novel is not about transgenders, of course. It is about love and relationships, loss and longing, fate vs free will, and emotional resilience. The initial squabble between Ram and Anandhi metamorphoses into romance, though the romance is destined to be one-way because Anandhi has a mission which won’t permit any romance. Anandhi’s mission is top secret and so it creates a whole lot of misunderstandings that entwine the plot into an exciting drama which threatens to end in melodrama but is saved by certain twists and turns of fiction as well as fate.

There is a lot of electrifying suspense in the novel and the novelist is entirely successful in keeping us hooked to the pages. I completed reading the novel in a single day: about seven hours of reading. A couple of villainous police officers add much to the final spices that not only stimulate our tastebuds but also intoxicate our fancy. A dash of history that gets intertwined with the fictional narrative in the climax adds much pathos to the novel which could have become bathos in the hands of a lesser writer.

The original Malayalam edition of this novel has seen 28 editions and has topped the best-selling chart among Indian language books. That’s a bit surprising. I am told that certain marketing strategies brought about such success. D C Ravi, the publisher of the Malayalam edition and one of the top book publishers in Kerala, has ascribed the success of the book to the romance-themed content which today’s youngsters want.

Indeed, the book is for youngsters. The author himself offers a caution in his initial note: “If you are an avid reader of literature, my storytelling style might disappoint you.” Well, it didn’t disappoint me though it didn’t enrich me anyway either. It entertained me immensely.

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