Roy not only wrote the screenplay but also appeared in a major role. Long before her Booker Prize fame, she drew heavily on her own years at the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, turning student life into story. “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones” was her first screenplay.

When Arundhati Roy finally entered the halls at Midas Centre yesterday evening, cheers erupted amidst the waiting audience, accompanied by sighs of relief -- “so, it's finally happening!” one said to the other.