Anand Neelakantan’s book to be adapted to film

Mumbai, Dec 1 (IANS) Author Anand Neelakantans book "Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara" will be adapted to a multi-lingual film.

Published by Penguin, this book is an epic tale from the Ramayana of the Vanara brothers about love, lust and betrayal.

"After 'The Rise of Sivagami' that is becoming a Netflix series, I am so excited about my new book 'Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara' getting a multi-lingual book to screen adaptation," Neelakantan, also known for "Asura: Tale of the Vanquished" and the "Ajaya" series, said in a statement.

"'Vanara...' is my best work till date and I am sure the producers are capable of making it a great film. It is also a matter of pride and joy that the book rights were bought within two days of its release, thanks to the Story Ink," he added.

Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Ebury Publishing and Vintage Publishing, is delighted but not surprised that "Vanara..." is being turned into a film soon.

"Anand Neelakantan has a unique cinematic vision and a talent of making characters come alive through his writing. I am excited and can't wait to see Baali, Sugreeva and Tara come alive on screen," added Ashwarya.

DAR Media, a 10-year old production house, has produced films such as "The Lunchbox", "D-Day" and "Ugly".

Vivek Rangachari, Producer at DAR Media, said: "Mythology as depicted in Anand Neelakantan's books is not just contemporary, but also puts our cultural history into context. 'Vanara...' is an extraordinary book and we are very excited at the prospect of adapting this book into a film."

Jaspreet Kaur, Producer at KR Movies, added: "Anand has this unique ability to bring forth unorthodox perspectives in our mythological legends transcending the stereotypical boundaries between good and bad, right and wrong.

"Our vision is now to create a product that captures the heart of cine-goers just like ours when we read it. It's a huge responsibility and I am extremely excited to be a part of this creative process."

The Story Ink is a story company that specialises in book to screen adaptation.

Sidharth Jain, Chief Storyteller at The Story Ink, said: "Amongst the 40 plus book to screen adaptation deals done by us in the last six months, 'Vanara...' is not only our most ambitious multi-lingual film deal, but also the highest value single-book deal of the year."