From desi genes to ‘pawri’ gupshup, author Moni Mohsin’s witty heroine on Instagram strikes a chord for hilarious swipes at Subcontinental socialites
Mohsin invented the animoji during the first lockdown in Pakistan a year ago. Pics/Instagram
How did the idea of this IG character emerge? Was there a trigger or was it an organic decision to create her character?
The IG character is based on the eponymous heroine of my long-running column and book, The Diary of a Social Butterfly. The Social Butterfly is a wealthy, shallow but endearing character who lives in Lahore and comments on her life and times.
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Where do you get your fodder for these tiny commentary pieces? Is she based on someone you’ve met in the past?
The Social Butterfly is based on myself. She speaks all my unworthy, unfiltered thoughts — all the things we all think but, thankfully, are too polite and proper to say!
The content is relatable; we have our SoBo cliques here in Mumbai, and the Lodhi Gardens set in Delhi. Is there something you feel that connects all of them?
Indian readers have taken the Social Butterfly to their hearts because she reminds them of their own social butterflies be they in Bombay, Bangalore or Delhi. In fact she’s a pretty universal character and can be found in Moscow, Lima, Singapore, New York, Riyadh, or wherever there are very wealthy people who can afford to live in privileged bubbles and whose grip on reality is at best tentative.
Tell us about some of the funniest episodes. What feedback have you been getting so far?
I invented this particular iteration of the Butterfly during the first COVID-19 lockdown almost exactly a year ago now. The lockdown provided me with lots of material — her inability to attend coffee parties and swanky dinners or fly to London for her holidays; her fear of catching the infection; her anxiety at losing her servants; her boredom; her withdrawal symptoms from shopping — all of which got an immediate response because so many people were going through the same experiences.
Moni Mohsin
Do you have plans to make a web series or any other visual translation of this character?
There’s nothing I’d like more than to make a web series based on The Diary of a Social Butterfly, and would be delighted to collaborate with a producer.
How has your writing been coming along?
My most recent novel, The Impeccable Integrity of Ruby R, was published by Penguin India in December 2020. A collection of new Butterfly columns is in the offing and I have just launched a podcast with my friend, Faiza Khan, who is an editor and a critic. Called Browned Off, the podcast is a funny, irreverent commentary on the portrayal of brown people in contemporary western culture. Our most recent episode of Browned Off can be found at: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-u5qie-fcc9b3.
Log on to: www.monimohsin.com (to check out the Instagram posts and podcast episodes)
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