Double Trouble

In Payal aPayal Kapadia’s delightful reimagining of the princess trope begins on this premise. Twice Upon A Time is part slapstick, part profound, a heady comedy about two girls thrust into roles they are unwilling to fulfil. Subverting centuries of fairy tales that project impossible standards of femininity on princesses, and, by extension, on girls who read and dream about being a princess one day, the novel is uproariously wicked. While all the ingredients of a classic fairy tale (a fire-breathing dragon and a pair of princes who come to the rescue) are recognizably present, they turn into sources of hilarity and twists in the tale. “Wisha Wozzariter”, a 10-year-old decides to pen a book. What follows is an entertaining quest for ideas and characters