"We need a face," Pestonjee declared, his voice echoing against the teak floors. "Something that says ‘purity.’ Something that says ‘Indian.’ But mostly, something that makes them want to chew." "A Bollywood star?" suggested a junior clerk.

As he writes in the final lines of State of Violence : "In the end, there are no stories. Only unfinished negotiations between the living and the dead." It is a line that captures the man perfectly: dark, wise, and utterly unforgettable.

The novel follows the intertwined fates of a desperate artist, a corrupt police inspector, and a land mafia don. The prose is lean, muscular, and cinematic. Kulkarni employs a technique he calls "dirty realism"—a stripped-down aesthetic that refuses to sentimentalize poverty or romanticize violence.

To appreciate , one must look at his literary ancestors. He cites the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges as his primary influence, particularly Ficciones . He also draws heavily from the American noir of Dashiell Hammett and the existential legalism of Franz Kafka.

What set the book apart was Kulkarni’s refusal to resort to easy binaries. In an era where discussions on religion and history are often polarized, Kulkarni offered a narrative that was nuanced, darkly funny, and deeply empathetic. The novel went on to win the prestigious Tata Literature Live! First Book Award (Fiction), a testament to its impact. Critics lauded the book for its ability to handle weighty historical themes with a light, engaging touch—a skill few authors possess.

Parashar Kulkarni is a distinguished political scientist and award-winning author whose work bridges the gap between historical institutional analysis and contemporary social challenges. His career is marked by a dual focus: rigorous academic research into the intersection of religion, property rights, and colonial history, and a celebrated literary path that explores the nuances of human behavior in complex societal structures.