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The Comeback : A Novel
Riding high on the success of his first major film, actor John K. lets his ego get the better of him and says too much in a fateful interview. The fallout shatters the life of his college friend, Asghar Abbasi. Disgraced, unemployed, his marriage in jeopardy, Asghar’s stable middle-class life is thrust into crisis. Broken but unbowed, Asghar retreats to his hometown, Baansa, where he rediscovers his true calling—the stage.
Devastated by the betrayal, he is determined to cut John out of his life; John, while remorseful, is equally determined to claw his way back in. As Asghar’s grassroots small-town theatre takes off, John’s star begins to dim, leaving him stuck in a career that pays the bills but is artistically stultifying. On the outside and desperate to be part of Asghar’s theatre comeback, John is forced to discover the limits of his self-centredness, and confront his ego, the shallow allure of fame, and the false hierarchies of the arts.
Restrained and incisive, The Comeback is a story of the price of betrayal, friendship and forgiveness, second chances, and the transformative power of art.
Devastated by the betrayal, he is determined to cut John out of his life; John, while remorseful, is equally determined to claw his way back in. As Asghar’s grassroots small-town theatre takes off, John’s star begins to dim, leaving him stuck in a career that pays the bills but is artistically stultifying. On the outside and desperate to be part of Asghar’s theatre comeback, John is forced to discover the limits of his self-centredness, and confront his ego, the shallow allure of fame, and the false hierarchies of the arts.
Restrained and incisive, The Comeback is a story of the price of betrayal, friendship and forgiveness, second chances, and the transformative power of art.
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Published February 10, 2025
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About the author
Annie Zaidi
20 books359 followersAnnie Zaidi writes poetry, essays, fiction, and scripts for the stage and the screen.
She is the author of The Comeback (2025), City of Incident: A novel in twelve parts (2021), and Prelude to a Riot, which won the Tata prize for fiction (2020). She is a recipient of the Nine Dots prize (2019) for Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation.
Her other books include Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales (collection of essays, short-listed for the Crossword Book Award (non- fiction) in 2010, Gulab (novella), Love Stories # 1 to 14 (short stories), and The Good Indian Girl (co-authored with Smriti Ravindra), and Crush (poetry).
She is also the editor of 'Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian women's Writing' and of 'Equal Halves'.
Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; India Shining, India Changing, and in literary journals like the Griffith Review, The Massachusetts Review, Big Bridge, Out of Print, and The Aleph Review.
Her work as a playwright has been performed and read in several cities. She received The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011).
She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.
She is the author of The Comeback (2025), City of Incident: A novel in twelve parts (2021), and Prelude to a Riot, which won the Tata prize for fiction (2020). She is a recipient of the Nine Dots prize (2019) for Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation.
Her other books include Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales (collection of essays, short-listed for the Crossword Book Award (non- fiction) in 2010, Gulab (novella), Love Stories # 1 to 14 (short stories), and The Good Indian Girl (co-authored with Smriti Ravindra), and Crush (poetry).
She is also the editor of 'Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian women's Writing' and of 'Equal Halves'.
Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; India Shining, India Changing, and in literary journals like the Griffith Review, The Massachusetts Review, Big Bridge, Out of Print, and The Aleph Review.
Her work as a playwright has been performed and read in several cities. She received The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011).
She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 22, 2025
-A Story That Reminded Me Of Premchand-
Review of 'The Comeback'
Quote Alert
'𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈'𝐈𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.'
If Premchand were alive, he would have written a story like The Comeback. Annie Zaidi brings her quill to life on pages that carry the story of star-crossed brothers from another mother John K. (Jaun Kazim) and Asghar, the former a somewhat successful movie actor, the latter who lost his job because John opened his gob a bit too much in an interview, taking credit for helping Asghar pass Economics exam by helping him cheat.
After this candid interview, all hell breaks loose. Asghar, a bank manager, is fired from his job and gets a sound thrashing (not just of tongue) from his mother Shakeela ma'am who has been an honest teacher. Asghar comes back to Baansa, a sleepy town near Lucknow. His marriage is now in shambles but he picks up the shards of his life and starts a theatre.
From here the story takes an interesting turn. Go read more to find out. I have read Zaidi's The Prelude To a Riot. This book is as away from that as it could be. It, however, does have nods to various communal issues and practices. While mentioning John's name change, she writes: 'He was afraid Jaun Kazim would be less appealing to the masses.'
I loved the entire vibe of the book. It's as if the pages pull you along in one whirlwind of a ride, not letting you go before you finish it. Zaidi brings just the right amount of emotion to the story: "Cities don't disappear when you leave them. But there are certain places, if you abandon them for too long, they simply crumble into the dust."
I also liked the sub plot involving Zubi's business and the way Zaidi presents the development of theatre in a small town. A good gripping story.
Review of 'The Comeback'
Quote Alert
'𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈'𝐈𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.'
If Premchand were alive, he would have written a story like The Comeback. Annie Zaidi brings her quill to life on pages that carry the story of star-crossed brothers from another mother John K. (Jaun Kazim) and Asghar, the former a somewhat successful movie actor, the latter who lost his job because John opened his gob a bit too much in an interview, taking credit for helping Asghar pass Economics exam by helping him cheat.
After this candid interview, all hell breaks loose. Asghar, a bank manager, is fired from his job and gets a sound thrashing (not just of tongue) from his mother Shakeela ma'am who has been an honest teacher. Asghar comes back to Baansa, a sleepy town near Lucknow. His marriage is now in shambles but he picks up the shards of his life and starts a theatre.
From here the story takes an interesting turn. Go read more to find out. I have read Zaidi's The Prelude To a Riot. This book is as away from that as it could be. It, however, does have nods to various communal issues and practices. While mentioning John's name change, she writes: 'He was afraid Jaun Kazim would be less appealing to the masses.'
I loved the entire vibe of the book. It's as if the pages pull you along in one whirlwind of a ride, not letting you go before you finish it. Zaidi brings just the right amount of emotion to the story: "Cities don't disappear when you leave them. But there are certain places, if you abandon them for too long, they simply crumble into the dust."
I also liked the sub plot involving Zubi's business and the way Zaidi presents the development of theatre in a small town. A good gripping story.
March 4, 2025
Annie Zaidi’s “The Comeback” is the story of two young men from a small town in North India who share a common love for the theatre. Though both are extremely talented and passionate, they choose very different paths. Asghar Abbasi took up a job at a bank, got married, had children and embraced a typical middle class existence. John K, on the other hand, dreamt of making it as an actor- he spent many years at the fringes of the acting profession, often taking up lighting jobs in order to sustain himself while he kept knocking at doors for his big break as an actor.
The lives of both these friends change drastically when, drunk on the giddiness of the moment, John K. says something in an interview that shatters the life of his college friend, Asghar. When John refuses to set things right, disgraced, unemployed and with his marriage in jeopardy, Asghar returns to his hometown, Baansa, where he returns to his first love- theater.
As Asghar's star rises on the theatre firmament and his is on the wane, John is forced to confront his self-centredness and the ephemeral nature of fame.
The author’s own training in theatre is evident in how the novel is structured. She sketches the backdrop with an enviable economy of words, then allows the characters to take over. The dialogue is crisp, the characters (including the supporting characters) are well developed, and the plot moves forward at just the right pace. The story is essentially told from the perspective of the actor, John K. He is selfish, self-serving, and deeply flawed, yet you find yourself hoping things will work out for him.
I particularly loved the affection with which each of the three main female characters were developed. In a story which is essentially about the rivalry between two college friends, they could very easily have devolved into caricatures, yet, each was well sketched out, and in their own way they had the same kind of growth and development as the main characters.
The entire novel is built on the perceived hierarchy of the performing arts, and the author subtly makes a point about how many of the attempts at decolonisation end up magnifying the same systems they were supposed to overthrow. Through Asghar’s stubborn decision to insist on centring his theatre in his hometown, Baansa, the author pays homage to the theatre which could flourish in smaller towns, but which ends up being subsumed in an attempt to reach a wider audience. At least in this novel, Asghar is able to resist the temptation to do so!
The blurb promises that “The Comeback is a story of the price of betrayal, friendship and forgiveness, second chances, and the transformative power of art”, and the book certainly lives upto that promise. In this book, Annie Zaidi demonstrates yet again why she is considered one of the finest Indian novelists writing in English today.
[I thank Aleph Book Company for a review copy. The views are my own.]
The lives of both these friends change drastically when, drunk on the giddiness of the moment, John K. says something in an interview that shatters the life of his college friend, Asghar. When John refuses to set things right, disgraced, unemployed and with his marriage in jeopardy, Asghar returns to his hometown, Baansa, where he returns to his first love- theater.
As Asghar's star rises on the theatre firmament and his is on the wane, John is forced to confront his self-centredness and the ephemeral nature of fame.
The author’s own training in theatre is evident in how the novel is structured. She sketches the backdrop with an enviable economy of words, then allows the characters to take over. The dialogue is crisp, the characters (including the supporting characters) are well developed, and the plot moves forward at just the right pace. The story is essentially told from the perspective of the actor, John K. He is selfish, self-serving, and deeply flawed, yet you find yourself hoping things will work out for him.
I particularly loved the affection with which each of the three main female characters were developed. In a story which is essentially about the rivalry between two college friends, they could very easily have devolved into caricatures, yet, each was well sketched out, and in their own way they had the same kind of growth and development as the main characters.
The entire novel is built on the perceived hierarchy of the performing arts, and the author subtly makes a point about how many of the attempts at decolonisation end up magnifying the same systems they were supposed to overthrow. Through Asghar’s stubborn decision to insist on centring his theatre in his hometown, Baansa, the author pays homage to the theatre which could flourish in smaller towns, but which ends up being subsumed in an attempt to reach a wider audience. At least in this novel, Asghar is able to resist the temptation to do so!
The blurb promises that “The Comeback is a story of the price of betrayal, friendship and forgiveness, second chances, and the transformative power of art”, and the book certainly lives upto that promise. In this book, Annie Zaidi demonstrates yet again why she is considered one of the finest Indian novelists writing in English today.
[I thank Aleph Book Company for a review copy. The views are my own.]
June 18, 2025
How many of us ever get a chance to follow our dreams? Even more rare, to double back on life, to go back to square one, and follow a passion rather than a profession. In an India where an emphasis on bland academics, on being engineer-doctor-lawyer-banker-civil servant still holds sway, a profession in the arts is often frowned down upon. Worse still would be a profession in the performing arts: ‘nautanki’ is a pejorative. In such a situation, for a banker to go back to his passion—theatre—and that too in a small town, is a novel, daring idea.
Annie Zaidi’s The Comeback: A Novel is a story about just such a person: Asghar, nearing forty, a married man, father of two daughters, a banker in Lucknow. ‘Successful’ in the conventional way of middle-class India, Asghar’s life receives a jolt when his best friend, the now well-known film actor John K, gives an interview. Reminiscing about college life and college theatre, John talks about Asghar doing stage productions in college, at the expense of studying for his exams. John laughingly confesses that he helped Asghar in the exams: by standing outside the window and telling him the answers. And just because of that, Asghar’s bank now fires him, claiming that his graduate degree is invalid.
Told from the point of view of John (who is actually Jaun Kazim; ‘John K’ is his stage name), The Comeback takes off from this point. Asghar goes back to his hometown, the fictitious Baansa, not too far from Lucknow. Far away in Mumbai, John tries to deal with the guilt of having wrecked his friend’s career. John’s desperation builds when he realizes just how badly his carelessness has affected Asghar: not merely in a practical sense, but emotionally. John’s increasingly wild attempts to get through to Asghar, to apologize, to find out what Asghar is doing (setting up a theatre company in Baansa) and to revive that old friendship, play out against a backdrop of show business: in Mumbai and in Baansa.
Zaidi’s background in theatre holds her in good stead as she sets the scene in The Comeback; the vividity with which she evokes the space, the characters, every little detail—could only have been done by someone who feels deeply about her subject. Small-town India comes to life in a matter-of-fact way that does not exoticize the mofussil. The storyline is absorbing, the characters well-etched, and the narrative written in a light, often witty style that is immensely readable.
What really stands out is Zaidi’s ability to plumb the depths of human emotion, to understand and to depict how we think and behave, what moves us and how. In the hands of a less skilled writer, this could have been a simple tale of an attempt to recover an old, damaged friendship. Zaidi blends into it so many nuances, so many interesting shades of meaning, the story becomes something more. There are John’s struggles with his own self, his desires, his guilt: the guilt attached to his overweening ambition, for instance, which has led him, over the years, to betray other people, too, not just Asghar. There is, too, his (long-suppressed) love for theatre, and the lurking knowledge that it is in theatre, not in the glittering world of cinema, that John will find his true sense of accomplishment. And, of course, there is John’s very deep affection for Asghar.
But entwined amidst all of this remorse and afterthought, there is John’s own ego, his own need to ‘show Asghar’, and, perhaps, to show the world (and himself?) that he, John K, is not a one-trick pony who can play the villain in film and OTT over and over again.
The Comeback is a short book, less than two hundred pages long. It’s an easy, quick read, yet it manages to be that rare thing, the book that entertains while making you think. It talks—with a light hand—of universal truths like betrayal and friendship, ambition and selfishness, passion and duty, privileges attached to gender, and much more, yet in a wonderfully subtle way.
(From my review for The New Indian Express, here: https://www.newindianexpress.com/life...)
Annie Zaidi’s The Comeback: A Novel is a story about just such a person: Asghar, nearing forty, a married man, father of two daughters, a banker in Lucknow. ‘Successful’ in the conventional way of middle-class India, Asghar’s life receives a jolt when his best friend, the now well-known film actor John K, gives an interview. Reminiscing about college life and college theatre, John talks about Asghar doing stage productions in college, at the expense of studying for his exams. John laughingly confesses that he helped Asghar in the exams: by standing outside the window and telling him the answers. And just because of that, Asghar’s bank now fires him, claiming that his graduate degree is invalid.
Told from the point of view of John (who is actually Jaun Kazim; ‘John K’ is his stage name), The Comeback takes off from this point. Asghar goes back to his hometown, the fictitious Baansa, not too far from Lucknow. Far away in Mumbai, John tries to deal with the guilt of having wrecked his friend’s career. John’s desperation builds when he realizes just how badly his carelessness has affected Asghar: not merely in a practical sense, but emotionally. John’s increasingly wild attempts to get through to Asghar, to apologize, to find out what Asghar is doing (setting up a theatre company in Baansa) and to revive that old friendship, play out against a backdrop of show business: in Mumbai and in Baansa.
Zaidi’s background in theatre holds her in good stead as she sets the scene in The Comeback; the vividity with which she evokes the space, the characters, every little detail—could only have been done by someone who feels deeply about her subject. Small-town India comes to life in a matter-of-fact way that does not exoticize the mofussil. The storyline is absorbing, the characters well-etched, and the narrative written in a light, often witty style that is immensely readable.
What really stands out is Zaidi’s ability to plumb the depths of human emotion, to understand and to depict how we think and behave, what moves us and how. In the hands of a less skilled writer, this could have been a simple tale of an attempt to recover an old, damaged friendship. Zaidi blends into it so many nuances, so many interesting shades of meaning, the story becomes something more. There are John’s struggles with his own self, his desires, his guilt: the guilt attached to his overweening ambition, for instance, which has led him, over the years, to betray other people, too, not just Asghar. There is, too, his (long-suppressed) love for theatre, and the lurking knowledge that it is in theatre, not in the glittering world of cinema, that John will find his true sense of accomplishment. And, of course, there is John’s very deep affection for Asghar.
But entwined amidst all of this remorse and afterthought, there is John’s own ego, his own need to ‘show Asghar’, and, perhaps, to show the world (and himself?) that he, John K, is not a one-trick pony who can play the villain in film and OTT over and over again.
The Comeback is a short book, less than two hundred pages long. It’s an easy, quick read, yet it manages to be that rare thing, the book that entertains while making you think. It talks—with a light hand—of universal truths like betrayal and friendship, ambition and selfishness, passion and duty, privileges attached to gender, and much more, yet in a wonderfully subtle way.
(From my review for The New Indian Express, here: https://www.newindianexpress.com/life...)
March 9, 2025
There’s something about old friendships that never quite leaves you. The way they shape who you are, the way they linger even when you think you’ve moved on. Reading The Comeback by Annie Zaidi felt like revisiting that one friendship that was intense, full of dreams, and then, suddenly, fractured. It’s not just a story about ambition or betrayal; it’s about the weight of choices, the things we say in a moment of arrogance, and the price we pay when the world refuses to forget.
Set against the backdrop of small-town North India, The Comeback unravels the lives of two men bound by their love for theatre yet separated by the paths they chose. Asghar Abbasi, who embraced the safety of a middle-class life, and John K., who chased the fickle glow of fame, embody two versions of ambition. But when a careless remark from John upends Asghar’s carefully built life, the past comes calling, pulling both men into a reckoning neither expected.
The writing doesn’t just tell a story; it pulls you into the protagonist’s restlessness, alienation, and reluctant reckoning with the past. The town is as much a character as any person, its transformation mirrors the changes within the life of the protagonist. It is a proof that time alters everything, whether we are there to witness it or not.
What I truly admired was how Zaidi didn’t reduce the side characters to mere stepping stones for the protagonist’s journey. Each of them breathes, stumbles, and evolves on their own terms. Cheeku, the restless young boy with dreams larger than Baansa, isn’t just there to idolize Asghar. He is a reminder of what raw ambition looks like before life tempers it.
Zubi, Asghar’s wife, is not written as a mere consequence of his choices; she carries her quiet strength, making decisions that ripple beyond his orbit.
And then there’s Nazo, Jaun’s cousin, once chosen as his bride, only to be abandoned without an explanation. But she doesn’t remain tethered to that heartbreak. Instead, she sheds any expectation of waiting, choosing to carve her own path. She travels, she works, she learns music, transforming not as a reaction to Jaun’s absence but as a testament to her own resilience. She is not a shadow of a lost love; she is someone who refuses to be defined by it.
The Comeback is unforgettable for its understanding of human contradictions. Success and failure blur, resentment coexists with nostalgia, and characters are neither heroes nor villains but just people grappling with the consequences of their own desires.
Set against the backdrop of small-town North India, The Comeback unravels the lives of two men bound by their love for theatre yet separated by the paths they chose. Asghar Abbasi, who embraced the safety of a middle-class life, and John K., who chased the fickle glow of fame, embody two versions of ambition. But when a careless remark from John upends Asghar’s carefully built life, the past comes calling, pulling both men into a reckoning neither expected.
The writing doesn’t just tell a story; it pulls you into the protagonist’s restlessness, alienation, and reluctant reckoning with the past. The town is as much a character as any person, its transformation mirrors the changes within the life of the protagonist. It is a proof that time alters everything, whether we are there to witness it or not.
What I truly admired was how Zaidi didn’t reduce the side characters to mere stepping stones for the protagonist’s journey. Each of them breathes, stumbles, and evolves on their own terms. Cheeku, the restless young boy with dreams larger than Baansa, isn’t just there to idolize Asghar. He is a reminder of what raw ambition looks like before life tempers it.
Zubi, Asghar’s wife, is not written as a mere consequence of his choices; she carries her quiet strength, making decisions that ripple beyond his orbit.
And then there’s Nazo, Jaun’s cousin, once chosen as his bride, only to be abandoned without an explanation. But she doesn’t remain tethered to that heartbreak. Instead, she sheds any expectation of waiting, choosing to carve her own path. She travels, she works, she learns music, transforming not as a reaction to Jaun’s absence but as a testament to her own resilience. She is not a shadow of a lost love; she is someone who refuses to be defined by it.
The Comeback is unforgettable for its understanding of human contradictions. Success and failure blur, resentment coexists with nostalgia, and characters are neither heroes nor villains but just people grappling with the consequences of their own desires.
May 2, 2025
The Comeback by Annie Zaidi
🏵️ I enjoyed this as a लखनवी, as a student of arts but most of all, as a person who loves getting emotional over books. I knew the probable ending but I stayed for the writing, for the characters and for the love for theatre. Annie Zaidi hooks you in from the very first paragraph which probably tells you all about the drama impending in the next 150 pages if you read closely, and I lived for it.
🏵️ I will not lie; the very desi wedding core cover led me to pick this book and the words “the comeback”. What comeback? I thought, and I got an amazing narrative to read. If you want to actually want this book occupying your mind, skip the blurb, it won’t let you down at all, I promise.
🏵️ Two friends, estranged, desperate in different ways, yet chasing the same things in the end, the comfort and refuge that art provides. Zaidi’s book takes you into the mundane realities of life, preserving friendships and families, about how often we do not take things that we really need to ‘live’ seriously, how we do not take art seriously. It was a joyous affair to read the adaptations of the Western plays into desi ones by the characters in the book, realising how fun the transformation of art is and how deep the emotions that they carry are. Stagecraft and acting is not everyone’s piece of cake, it requires sincerity and the ability to flow and take shape like water does, and the two friends bring out their best in this book. The settings, the dialogues, the happiness, the grief, I loved this one through and through. It feels like reading a familiar Hindi novel and I adore it for that. It has the small town charm and the big city thrill and there are a few books that balance it this well. Nan-khatai and cookies, movies, TV shows and theatre, I hope you love this book as much as I did.
🏵️ I think I’ve found another auto-buy author.
🏵️ I enjoyed this as a लखनवी, as a student of arts but most of all, as a person who loves getting emotional over books. I knew the probable ending but I stayed for the writing, for the characters and for the love for theatre. Annie Zaidi hooks you in from the very first paragraph which probably tells you all about the drama impending in the next 150 pages if you read closely, and I lived for it.
🏵️ I will not lie; the very desi wedding core cover led me to pick this book and the words “the comeback”. What comeback? I thought, and I got an amazing narrative to read. If you want to actually want this book occupying your mind, skip the blurb, it won’t let you down at all, I promise.
🏵️ Two friends, estranged, desperate in different ways, yet chasing the same things in the end, the comfort and refuge that art provides. Zaidi’s book takes you into the mundane realities of life, preserving friendships and families, about how often we do not take things that we really need to ‘live’ seriously, how we do not take art seriously. It was a joyous affair to read the adaptations of the Western plays into desi ones by the characters in the book, realising how fun the transformation of art is and how deep the emotions that they carry are. Stagecraft and acting is not everyone’s piece of cake, it requires sincerity and the ability to flow and take shape like water does, and the two friends bring out their best in this book. The settings, the dialogues, the happiness, the grief, I loved this one through and through. It feels like reading a familiar Hindi novel and I adore it for that. It has the small town charm and the big city thrill and there are a few books that balance it this well. Nan-khatai and cookies, movies, TV shows and theatre, I hope you love this book as much as I did.
🏵️ I think I’ve found another auto-buy author.
April 22, 2025
I bought this book as soon as I read its blurb. Annie Zaidi never disappoints. This book is peppered with college-era nostalgia for English drama students—Dr Faustus and The Rover cleverly explained as Dr Baal and Baanke. I enjoyed this book for its discussion of stagecraft, for the way Jaun is obsessed with Asghar and for Zubi, Shakeela ma'am and Nazo. Jaun is all too real in his selfishness and makes you wonder, how far can a rake go?
March 13, 2025
All’s well that ends well
August 26, 2025
The title page gives a clue about the story. A feel-good story about friendship, small places, and betrayal. In the backdrop of the theatre in small places. A well-written book.
September 15, 2025
I enjoyed this a lot—a short but engaging novel about small-town theatre, friendship, and ambition. I read it in one long sitting and it felt crisp and sharp!
August 14, 2025
Annie Zaidi’s The Comeback surpasses the borders of a simple novel about theatre as it intricately analyses companionship, ambition, and starting anew. The book juxtaposes the claustrophobic world of Mumbai's film industry and the peaceful realm of Baansa's town theatre, and chronicles the lives its two protagonists - John K- an insatiable film actor, and Asghar Abbasi who faces a life-changing altercation as John's remark during an interview turns out to be the undoing of his life. Their relationship grows more strained due to betrayal, the desire for fame, the healing nature of the stage, and essence of true friendship in the end.
The sheer depth of Zaidi’s understanding of theatre lends The Comeback an authenticity that cannot simply be brushed aside as good storytelling. It reminds me of the time I wrote a short play for Alyque Padamsee, about coming out. It marked a shift in my creative endeavours. At the time, theatre was a form of expression that could be moulded into capturing emotions that felt too raw to say aloud. The same emotions are encapsulated in The Comeback. The power that performance has and its ability to strip one down to their most vulnerable forms.
The decline of John K is swift and brutal, a single remark or a tiny spark of online protest places him no longer the centre of attention. This is not simply a warning. Zaidi challenges us to consider the depth of responsibility and the far-reaching consequences of accountability.
Another noteworthy aspect of this book is its female characters. Although John and Asghar are at the centre of the conflict, the women in this book are far from flat. They each have their own storylines, goals, and strategies for handling the consequences of the men's decisions.
The structures that influence the performing arts are questioned in the book. There is a nuanced, incisive, and candid examination of how the industry frequently reinforces the same old hierarchies in its attempts to reshape itself post-colonially.
Asghar's decision to set up his theatre in Baansa instead of chasing the approval of a big-city crowd is more than just a personal choice; it sends a powerful message about whose narratives are shared and who gets to share them. Zaidi doesn't sugarcoat the challenges that artists in smaller towns face. Instead, he sheds light on the sacrifices, the feeling of being overlooked, and the quiet determination it takes to create something significant away from the limelight.
The Comeback dives into themes of redemption and the cost of ambition. It raises tough questions, like whether friendships can survive when the power dynamics shift too far in one direction. If no one is watching, does art still hold its worth? And what does it really mean to make a comeback, both in our personal lives and our careers?
The sheer depth of Zaidi’s understanding of theatre lends The Comeback an authenticity that cannot simply be brushed aside as good storytelling. It reminds me of the time I wrote a short play for Alyque Padamsee, about coming out. It marked a shift in my creative endeavours. At the time, theatre was a form of expression that could be moulded into capturing emotions that felt too raw to say aloud. The same emotions are encapsulated in The Comeback. The power that performance has and its ability to strip one down to their most vulnerable forms.
The decline of John K is swift and brutal, a single remark or a tiny spark of online protest places him no longer the centre of attention. This is not simply a warning. Zaidi challenges us to consider the depth of responsibility and the far-reaching consequences of accountability.
Another noteworthy aspect of this book is its female characters. Although John and Asghar are at the centre of the conflict, the women in this book are far from flat. They each have their own storylines, goals, and strategies for handling the consequences of the men's decisions.
The structures that influence the performing arts are questioned in the book. There is a nuanced, incisive, and candid examination of how the industry frequently reinforces the same old hierarchies in its attempts to reshape itself post-colonially.
Asghar's decision to set up his theatre in Baansa instead of chasing the approval of a big-city crowd is more than just a personal choice; it sends a powerful message about whose narratives are shared and who gets to share them. Zaidi doesn't sugarcoat the challenges that artists in smaller towns face. Instead, he sheds light on the sacrifices, the feeling of being overlooked, and the quiet determination it takes to create something significant away from the limelight.
The Comeback dives into themes of redemption and the cost of ambition. It raises tough questions, like whether friendships can survive when the power dynamics shift too far in one direction. If no one is watching, does art still hold its worth? And what does it really mean to make a comeback, both in our personal lives and our careers?
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