Indian Noir's Nikesh Murali shares how to write critically acclaimed fiction and capture India's Crime and Horror podcasting scene

In this episode, we are having a chat with the host of Indian Noir, Nikesh Murali!

Nikesh is a critically acclaimed crime and horror writer, as well as a globally acclaimed spoken word artist, the creator and voice behind India's number one storytelling podcast, Indian Noir. He is a Commonwealth short story prize winner and DWL story prize winning writer also received the honorable mentions for the Katha short story prize twice.

He's also the author of a multi award-winning Amazon bestselling short story collection, the Killing Fields and novel His Night Begins is adapted to an audio version for his podcast. Nearing the end of the storyline, I reached out to Nikesh to talk to him about the origins of Indian Noir and his take on creating such an amazing show.

We talked about:

• Nikesh's origin story, how he went from spending decades writing novels, doing spoken word to diving into the world of podcasting
• His writing process: Using TV and screenwriting techniques to create fast binge-worthy episodes
• The unique structure behind Indian Noir and its multiple shows
• Nikesh's take on the creative podcasting scene and how to tap into it as a budding podcaster/creative

Enjoy!

Timestamps

• 4:57 Writing in a dying publishing industry: Nikesh's origin story
• 8:18 Poetry and the beauty of recitation
• 11:15 "I've always had a very dim view of the world" Focusing on crime, and the start of His Night Begins
• 14:11 "What about our stories?" The void of Indian crime and horror stories
• 18:43 Indian Noir's audiences span the globe because stories transcend cultural contexts
• 20:31 Spikes in listenership from overseas (US, Middle East, Australia), and Horror in Asia
• 22:46 A billion people and multiple languages: The sheer potential of translating Indian Noir
• 24:46 Indian Noir's multi-show structure: Indian Noir X, One Shots, FearFM and Desi Crime
• 29:09 "I do not think of Indian Noir as a podcast" Nikesh compares running his show to HBO
• 29:56 "Television is the most superior, supreme form of storytelling, full-stop."
• 32:37 The release schedule for Indian Noir, the podcast run like a TV channel
• 36:44 My own fiction show, Tempered Fables, the lore and continuity behind it
• 40:38 The beauty of oral storytelling
• 41:50 Oral storytelling has always been the oldest form of storytelling
• 43:58 How Nikesh feels about ending His Night Begins
• 45:37 "I get complaints if there isn't an episode" The fierce loyalty of His Night Begins fans
• 46:18 The pressure of ending a show, and writing a satisfying ending
• 49:48 Nikesh Murali will be the sole actor of Indian Noir, and why
• 53:10 The challenges of being a single voice actor
• 55:12 Indian Noir as a duty, novel adaptations, and the satisfaction of making a podcast
• 58:33 Invest in your craft, invest in your skillset
• 1:03:59 The learner's mindset
• 1:05:20 What Nikesh would like to see more of in the Asian podcasting scene - critical analysis of the scene itself
• 1:11:13 EXTRA: More on fiction, backgrounds and accents!

Links

• Listen to Indian Noir in your favourite app
• Indian Noir Website
• Indian Noir on Audioboom
• Indian Noir Twitter
• Nikesh's Website