The Zoya Factor
Encyclopedia
The Zoya Factor is a novel written by Anuja Chauhan
, published by HarperCollins
India in 2008. It is about a Rajput
girl named Zoya Singh Solanki who meets the Indian Cricket Team
through her job as an executive in an advertising agency
and ends up becoming a lucky charm for the team for the 2010 Cricket World Cup
. Writer Anuja Chauhan started working on her debut novel
in 2006, writing during her spare time. Having work on Pepsi
brand for 13 years while working with JWT
Delhi, where she was Vice President and closely associated with cricket advertising, eventually led to cricket becoming the setting of her novel
, who loves everything about her job especially the brand she has been put in charge of – Zing Cola (Pepsi
in a fictional avatar). But when she’s made to leave an ad film shoot, featuring none other than Shah Rukh Khan, and has to go to Dhaka
to shoot an add with the Indian cricket team
she begins to experience her first pangs of irritation towards the brand(Zing). Making matters somewhat worse, the team captain Nikhil Khoda insists on discipline as a norm and cuts her oh-so-important shoot short. This causes her to stay back a few more days than anticipated and miss the Shah Rukh Khan film shoot. When the men in blue realise that Zoya was born at the very moment India won the first and the only cricket World Cup in 1983
, they are appaled. What intrigues them more was when they realised that having breakfast with her is followed by victories on the field, and when not eating with her results in defeat. They decide she is a lucky charm.
As luck would have it, the rag tag team had a sudden spurt of victories and soon the cricket-crazy nation declares her a goddess. Soon, Zoya is invited by the eccentric IBCC (stands for Indian Board of Cricket Control, and is a spoof on BCCI, Board of Control for Cricket in India
) president to accompany the team to the ICC World Cup in Australia
.
Pursued by international cricket boards on the one hand, wooed by cola majors on the other, Zoya struggles to stay grounded in the thick of the World Cup action.
And it doesn't help that she keeps clashing with the erratically brilliant new Indian skipper, who tells her flatly that he doesn't believe in luck. What follows is a love-hate relationship; attraction and antagonism. Zoya is luck personified and she never ceases to be the lucky charm for the men-in-blue.
, "it is a fun read which takes the Indian chick-lit way beyond mush and smut, right to freakily naughty. Her writing is very funny, very now and very funny. Her themes of cricket, love and politics are smartly topical." Apart from the novel's subject matter, cricket, that India is obsessed with, what makes the book unique in Indian publishing history is the whopping print run of 20,000 copies at the launch. "It is very unusual for any publisher in India to go in for such a huge print run for a commercial debut novel, but we were confident of The Zoya Factor right at the first time we read hero's manuscript," said hero heeralal, editor and publisher, HarperCollins Publishers India.
production company, for a period of three years.
Anuja Chauhan
Anuja Chauhan is an Indian author and advertiser. She worked in the advertising agency, JWT India, for over 17 years, eventually becoming vice president and executive creative director, before resigning in 2010 to pursue a full-time literary career...
, published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
India in 2008. It is about a Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
girl named Zoya Singh Solanki who meets the Indian Cricket Team
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
through her job as an executive in an advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
and ends up becoming a lucky charm for the team for the 2010 Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
. Writer Anuja Chauhan started working on her debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
in 2006, writing during her spare time. Having work on Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
brand for 13 years while working with JWT
JWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...
Delhi, where she was Vice President and closely associated with cricket advertising, eventually led to cricket becoming the setting of her novel
Plot summary
Zoya Solanki is a client service rep with an advertising agencyAdvertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
, who loves everything about her job especially the brand she has been put in charge of – Zing Cola (Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
in a fictional avatar). But when she’s made to leave an ad film shoot, featuring none other than Shah Rukh Khan, and has to go to Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
to shoot an add with the Indian cricket team
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
she begins to experience her first pangs of irritation towards the brand(Zing). Making matters somewhat worse, the team captain Nikhil Khoda insists on discipline as a norm and cuts her oh-so-important shoot short. This causes her to stay back a few more days than anticipated and miss the Shah Rukh Khan film shoot. When the men in blue realise that Zoya was born at the very moment India won the first and the only cricket World Cup in 1983
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
, they are appaled. What intrigues them more was when they realised that having breakfast with her is followed by victories on the field, and when not eating with her results in defeat. They decide she is a lucky charm.
As luck would have it, the rag tag team had a sudden spurt of victories and soon the cricket-crazy nation declares her a goddess. Soon, Zoya is invited by the eccentric IBCC (stands for Indian Board of Cricket Control, and is a spoof on BCCI, Board of Control for Cricket in India
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu...
) president to accompany the team to the ICC World Cup in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Pursued by international cricket boards on the one hand, wooed by cola majors on the other, Zoya struggles to stay grounded in the thick of the World Cup action.
And it doesn't help that she keeps clashing with the erratically brilliant new Indian skipper, who tells her flatly that he doesn't believe in luck. What follows is a love-hate relationship; attraction and antagonism. Zoya is luck personified and she never ceases to be the lucky charm for the men-in-blue.
Main characters
- Zoya Singh Solanki- An advertising agent who was born on 25th June 1983, at the exact moment that India won the Cricket World CupCricket World CupThe ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
and lives in Karol BaghKarol BaghKarol Bagh, also spelled as Qarol Bagh , is a mixed residential-cum-commercial neighbourhood in Delhi, India, known for its shopping streets, like the Ghaffar Market and Ajmal Khan Road...
in DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
with her father and his three brothers' family. Her father is Vijayendra Singh Solanki and her mother is deceased. Her brother is Zoravar and the housekeeper, Eppa, is like a mom to her. She has a dog called Meeku. She has two aunts, Rinku and Anita, Rinku being her favourite. Her best friend, Monita Mukherjee works at AWB advertising agency with her. Her boss is Sanks. She hates Nikhil Khoda in the beginning but soon a romance begins to blossom between them. Whenever she eats breakfast with the Indian Cricket Team they win the following match. This prompts the board to send her to Australia with them for the Cricket World Cup.
- Nikhil Khoda- The captain of The Indian Cricket TeamIndian cricket teamThe Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
. Tall, dark, and handsome. He does not believe in luck and in the beginning, thinks that Zoya is a distraction to the team. He believes that hard work and determination is the key to success. He is known to often talk like a NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
ad.
- Monita Mukherjee- Zoya's best friend who accompanies her to Australia for the World Cup. She works at AWB with Zoya, is married to a banker, and has two sons, Armaan and Aman.
- The Indian Cricket Team
Reception
The book was well received by the media. It constantly features in the Top 5 of many newspapers in India. The Asian Age ranked it #1 for 3 weeks when it was released. According to The Times Of IndiaThe Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
, "it is a fun read which takes the Indian chick-lit way beyond mush and smut, right to freakily naughty. Her writing is very funny, very now and very funny. Her themes of cricket, love and politics are smartly topical." Apart from the novel's subject matter, cricket, that India is obsessed with, what makes the book unique in Indian publishing history is the whopping print run of 20,000 copies at the launch. "It is very unusual for any publisher in India to go in for such a huge print run for a commercial debut novel, but we were confident of The Zoya Factor right at the first time we read hero's manuscript," said hero heeralal, editor and publisher, HarperCollins Publishers India.
Film adaptation
The novel was optioned for a film by Shah Rukh Khans Red Chillies EntertainmentRed Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company was founded in 2002 by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan...
production company, for a period of three years.
External links
- Giving cricket hysteria a kick on its backside, Interview, 2008 at Mint (newspaper)Mint (newspaper)Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner...