Satire: The solution to AI mimicking humans is to have humans mimic the AI that mimics the human. From Vikram Chandra and Salman Rushdie to mythological adventures and a popcorny topsy-turvy romance, here is our preview of the 15 hottest and thoroughly fraudulent Indian books for the 2025 summer. By Karan Madhok

In a world filled with abstractions, the greatest clarity in Gyan Chaturvedi’s The Madhouse (Pagalkhana) comes from the protagonist’s never-ending pursuit for escape: an escape from the Bazaar, from the dependence on commodification, from being commodified themselves. By Karan Madhok

Nishant Injam’s debut story collection The Best Possible Experience (2024) features a cast of characters between India and the United States who are often homesick for another world: a world that could be a physical or a metaphorical distance away, a world they aspire to with the burdens of a life unfulfilled. By Karan Madhok

In a lengthy conversation, A.M. Gautam, the author of Indian Millennials: Who Are They, Really? (2024), speaks about the many anxieties and opportunities of the Indian millennial, themes of romance, employment, politics, and commerce, and discovering his own self while exploring the larger generation. By Karan Madhok

Vivek Shanbag’s novel Sakina’s Kiss (2013) features a protagonist obsessed with possession, uncomfortable in the evolving role of his masculinity, searching for meaning in a life where every answer presents a series of more confounding questions. By Karan Madhok

From Wake Up Sid and Rockstar to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Tamasha, Ranbir Kapoor became the poster boy of young men coming-of-age into his identity. Ananya argues, however, that the the true catalysts of these metamorphoses were always his female leads.  

Contemporary OTT narratives like Panchayat and Nirmal Pathak Ki Ghar Wapsi are revisiting the rural through the lens of an urban outsider, in an evocation of Sri Lal Shukla’s acclaimed 1968 novel Raag Darbari. By Ananya

Personal Essay by Karan Madhok: ‘My mother handed me the postcard… I couldn’t believe my eyes…Tendulkar had written to me, addressed me by my first name, acknowledged my whole existence with a single thick piece of rectangular paper.’

Acclaimed Tamil author (most-recently of Resolve) Perumal Murugan spoke about satire and literature, about men and women, and about being ‘controversy’s favourite child’. By Medha Dutta Yadav

In his review of Sridala Swami’s collection Run for the Shadows (2021), Saurabh Sharma celebrates a poet whose ‘craft is like a prism, from which white light disperses into colourful bands’

Head of design at Penguin Random House India Ahlawat Gunjan discusses the art of book covers, the collaboration of literature and design, of sales and inspiration, and the magic process making it all come together. By Varud Gupta

‘Theatre is a collaborative art form. It has that mongrel quality. We take from everyone, and finding community is key.’ Greeny Francis discusses her calling towards the theatrical arts, crafting immersive and experiential theatre, and stories from the production process. By Varud Gupta