Sundari Venkatraman’s latest, The Runaway Bridegroom, catches your attention as soon as you see it. The vibrant cover by Unaiza Merchant, featuring a hunk and a hottie, is as snazzy as a movie poster. The opening scene grabs you by the throat too, but in a different way.

Eight-year old Chanda’s mother asks her to get ready for the ‘viewing’ by the groom’s family. Yes, the doll-like child is to be married to thirteen-year old Veera. The marriage takes place soon afterwards, but the groom disappears the same night. Chanda’s family is in despair and they finally move from their village to Jaipur, hoping that they can shed their disgrace in the anonymity of a big city.

The second scene moves you forward fourteen years, when Chanda is in her final year of management studies in a Delhi college. She is pretty, with huge eyes, lovely hair and… a frozen heart. She feels as if her life is not hers to live. It is frozen like she is, in a past event which was not of her choosing.

Things change dramatically with the entry of Ranveer Singh, the MD of a software firm, who has come to address the students. Chanda falls hopelessly in love. He too is attracted by her dark gaze and her deep silence and is unable to forget her. Ranveer fobs off the overtures of his secretary Shikha who flaunts her body in an attempt to attract his attention. But she refuses to take the hint. Would she succeed in getting his attention away from the mystery girl?

Fate brings Ranveer and Chanda together again when she becomes an intern at his firm. Her parents meanwhile meet Vidyasagar, an astrologer, with the idea of getting her married again. The astrologer tells them something bizarre that they need to investigate. The pace of events picks up with this. There are people looking for the missing bridegroom, Ranveer looks for Chanda who goes missing, her brothers look for the man their sister loves, and Shikha gets busy throwing a spanner in the works. How will things be resolved and will true love find its happy ending?

Several interesting characters are introduced along the way: Chanda’s four brothers, named Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan; her father Mohan who has a ‘Cinderella syndrome’, wanting his sons to get back home by midnight; the sleuth they hire to find the missing groom whose real name is Rajesh Khanna!

Love, missed connections, astrology, child marriage, family ties, modern realities ― Sundari weaves all the threads together to form a vivid tapestry. So what are you waiting for now? Download your copy from Amazon and find out if Chanda and Ranveer get what they desire!

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