Geeta Anand: Swimming champ, Pulitzer winner and now Hollywood hit

At the recent Los Angeles premiere of the Hollywood movie "Extraordinary Measures", starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, the author of the book on which the film is based, Geeta Anand, stood out wearing a black chiffon sari in a sea of black ties and designer gowns. Anand's book, "The Cure -- How a father raised $100 million and bucked the medical establishment in a quest to save his children" is based on the true story of the Crowley family. 

Written as a medical thriller, it's the story of a "dad starting a company to save his kids," Anand says. John and Aileen Crowley had two children Megan and Patrick, both of whom suffered from Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder with a life expectancy of not more than two years. Thanks to their efforts, today Megan is 13 and Patrick is 12, but both are still in wheelchairs and on ventilators. 

Two years ago Anand, a Pulitzer-prize winning Wall Street Journal writer, and former Asian Games and Commonwealth Games swimming champ, moved back to her home town of Mumbai, after more than 20 years away. She talks to CNNGo about the book, and its film adaptation. 

CNNGo: As a journalist, how did you make the transition to writing a medical thriller?

Geeta Anand: I wanted to write a book of this story because it is so rich and there are so many threads. I think it’s true that life is so much more exciting than fiction. And the family was open to talking about their failures and mistakes as well. I first wrote an article on the Crowleys in 2001 when I was on the biotech beat at WSJ. From then I thought it would be good to follow them and see what happens. It took two years before the kids were treated. In 2003 I wrote the second article which appeared on front page of WSJ. And in 2004, I took eight months off from my job to write the book. I wanted it to be a book you could not stop reading. "Sea Biscuit" and "Into Thin Air" were my models when I was writing. The book had to appeal to a housewife too so I wrote the science so a grandmother could also understand it. I think that the book is a good read. I wanted it to be honest and accurate and that the family should not be horrified. Fortunately they liked it.

CNNGo: What did your interaction with the Crowleys teach you?

Anand: I was deeply affected by my interactions with the Crowleys. Knowing them has made me appreciate how grateful we should be for each day -- because that is how they live. Even today they don’t know how long their kids will live, so they celebrate each occasion with gusto. Which is why I say in my dedication: "For the Crowleys, who taught me how to live" because they reminded all the time how tenuous life is. 

CNNGo: How was the experience of attending a Hollywood premiere?

Anand: It was really fun. I hadn’t seen the movie yet and I really enjoyed it. There was no pressure because even though the book spawned the movie, the movie really is its very own entity. We got to walk the red carpet and experience what it’s like to have a hundred cameras flashing. I didn’t expect to be nervous, but I have to say the lights and cameras were a tiny bit unfamiliar and unnerving. My kids were so excited and enthusiastic, literally skipping and actually giving their own interviews. I think they thought they were going to be discovered and put straight into a Hana Montana episode!

CNNGo: What did you think of the film?

Anand: I thought it was really good. I liked the screenplay, and I thought Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser were very believable and likeable as the scientist and the dad. I was really impressed that the production team was able to make science and business so interesting, entertaining and moving.

CNNGo: Which books do you think have made great films?

Anand: "A Beautiful Mind" is my favorite book made into a movie. It’s the one I felt was actually better than the book. The screenwriter put the audience in the shoes of John Nash by having us believe that Russians were really pursuing him, only to learn that we had been fooled, just as he was by his schizophrenia. That’s how a movie can give an audience an experience that a book can’t quite achieve. I loved that. Russell Crowe is one of the greatest actors ever -- and watching him play Nash was awe-inspiring.

"The Cure" and "Extraordinary Measures" both release in India in March 2010.