Author Shamini Flint on her iconic Inspector Singh being a TV show

MALAYSIANSKINI | Prolific author Shamini Flint made the news recently when it was reported that her Inspector Singh Investigates novels were going to be adapted into a TV series.

The three-part series will star British actor Sanjeev Bhaskar, star of the sitcom The Kumars at No. 42 and a lead role in the Unforgotten crime series.

‘Inspector Singh’ was commissioned by online video subscription service BritBox International and will go into production in January 2023.

It will be produced by London/Singapore-based global media firm 108 Media and directed by Suri Krishnamma, who also directed ‘The Canterville Ghost’ and ‘Coronation Street’ TV series.

At the time of the interview with Malaysiakini, Kuala Lumpur-born Flint was still in Singapore and was in the midst of making a trip to vote in Lembah Pantai before flying to Doha for the World Cup.

Flint was a lawyer working for a UK-based law firm in Singapore and had two children when she took the plunge to become an author.

”I said that it was the high tide of maternal hormones that confused me and I quit my job. It was not my best decision because I was the worst stay-at-home mum.

“I turned into a proper tiger mother because I had nowhere else to channel my workaholism and energies except to chase my poor toddlers around. That is when I started to write,” Flint told Malaysiakini.

Writing for children

When her children were young, she noticed she could not find any good locally based literature. She found that children’s books in the market, as charming as they were, did not resonate with local children.

She said it was frustrating that after 30 years, she has yet to find any storybooks or picture books relevant to her children’s experience growing up.

Her kids are half-English, but she particularly wanted them to recognise their half-Asian side as well.

“It is difficult when all their external influences, whether it is TV or books are all Western-centric. To cut a long story short, I decided to try to fill in the gaps and write these Sasha books,” said Shamini.

“Sasha is my daughter and that proved to be a mistake. Never put your children in books because they will spend the rest of their lives complaining,” she added in jest.

There are four series of Sasha books with 17 books in total, including ‘Sasha in Singapore’, ‘Sasha in Asia’, ‘Sasha Sees The World’, and ‘Sasha In Mandarin’.

The books are popular and Flint suspects she wasn’t the only parent out there looking for a conceptualised experience in picture books for children.

“I didn’t call myself a writer back then because the books were simple. My contribution wasn’t as a writer but as organising the production of these simple children’s books based on children’s experiences in this part of this world,“ Flint explained.

Nonetheless, she continued writing the books before branching out into other picture books with environmental themes and, as the kids grew older, she naturally progressed to writing novels for older children.

Writing as a mother

It grew frustrating as she spent many years essentially writing for children, speaking to children, and entertaining children.

“I had to remind myself that I am a lawyer, a teacher, an adult, a Malaysian, and someone who cared about issues of politics and society and culture.

“So I thought it was time to put that into practice and if I have to be a writer and not a lawyer then I should write about who I am and what I believe as a lawyer and a Malaysian.

“So I wrote ‘A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder with Inspector Singh’ as the main character, my protagonist,” Flint recalled.

The first draft of this book featured a Malaysian Indian woman lawyer in her 30s.

“I was trying to write something vaguely autobiographical. It was terrible. Turns out I am a boring protagonist. There was a small character who was Inspector Singh,“ she said.

When she reread what she had written, she realised everyone seemed two-dimensional except Inspector Singh. So she started looking at that character more carefully.

Inspector Singh

At the time she was working on the book, it was some years after the aftermath of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in New York and there was a lot of news about Sikhs being attacked as they were mistaken for being Muslim.

She thought it was a fascinating twist on being a Sikh in the 21st century.

On the other hand, in Southeast Asia, Sikhs are considered a very significant immigrant community.

“Honesty, I also felt (based on feedback from the books) my experiences as a half-Tamil, half-Malayalee growing up in Malaysia, I felt my community experiences growing up would not be that different.“

Avoiding the classic tropes of cops in novels such as the alcoholic, the aristocrat, or the Scottish detective, she also knew she had to do something that makes the character unique.

“So I recreated the classic crime novel but set it in Asia and made sure that the story, the murder and everything, is rooted in the culture of this part of the world. You better have a policeman who keeps people’s attention.“

She attributes the creation of Inspector Singh to luck. What started as a minor character ended up becoming the main character in her series of detective novels.

When the spotlight was on the then the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Amar Singh right after the 14th general election, it looked almost as though Inspector Singh jumped out of the books into real life.

Flint describes Amar Singh as “a well put together, neat, more impressive character than by my Inspector Singh.”

The character in the book is overweight, not keen on exercise, and with a fondness for food and alcohol.

“Amar Singh was probably the version that my inspector Singh would have aspired to.”

Developing the character

Inspector Singh is a Singapore police officer. When asked if he was meant to be a Punjabi “Colombo” (a popular TV series based on a police detective played by Peter Falk) she said it wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

It wasn't something she thought of while writing the books but it may have been something that was inspired by her years of experience.

She could have gone with a handsome and perfect cop but: “I wanted someone who was a bit gritty, a bit angry, and a bit fed up, a bit of a radical in his society.

“In the Singapore police department, he will be viewed as a radical but in the Malaysian context, people who have read the books say he reminds them of one of their uncles.”

She invested a lot of time and energy into this character. When asked what it is like to let go and allow someone else to adapt it into a TV series, Flint said:

“Honestly, I am quite practical. These people are experienced in their own fields. They optioned Inspector Singh because they liked the character, and they liked the idea of an Asian crime series.

“So I have to trust them not to depart too much from the essence of the books. They assured me they were attracted to the character and locations. I am not petrified about losing control.”

But she admits that if it is a huge departure from what she created, she might be disappointed, but for now, she will place her trust in the producers.

There are seven books in total, the last was published in 2016. If the TV series takes off, Flint says she will probably write half a dozen more books.

“What I found interesting as I was writing ‘Inspector Singh’, having dropped myself as the main character, that actually, it may sound a bit strange but Inspector Singh and I are the same people.

“I have to credibly disguise myself to write my thoughts and opinions. About four or five books in, I realised that Inspector Singh was me in disguise.“

She points out that he stands out from the crowd with his attitude, black humour, and opinions. She ended up writing a more personal story than what she initially set out to.

Like her titular character, Flint sees herself as an outsider too. Singh is determined to solve the problem and does not come with the baggage of being a Singaporean police officer. He comes across as a universal police officer who gets worked up when he sees an injustice being committed.

“He does not bring Singapore culture into the murder cases except that he is an outsider, and he doesn’t belong. I see myself as a patriotic Malaysian but growing up in Malaysia, you are always made to feel like you are an outsider.“

She points out that as an ethnic Indian you are always the minority. This is something she experiences living in Singapore and also at the English firm where she works.

“If you are a minority, an immigrant, and a woman, you will always feel like an outsider.“

A very prolific writer, Flint has written several book series over the years as well as a thriller ‘The Beijing Conspiracy’.

Right now, Flint has just started on a new children’s series of books that revolve around a boy and his dog and the story is told from the perspective of the dog.

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