Jane Borges's debut novel ‘Bombay Balchao’ set to come alive on screen

Jane Borges

Sunday Mid-Day journalist and the co-author of crime non-fiction Mafia Queens of Mumbai, Jane Jane Borges's debut novel 'Bombay Balchao' had created quite the stir among the literary fraternity with its honest and innocent portrayal of Cavel, a Goan neighbourhood in South Bombay.

It also went on to grab a nomination for the prestigious Atta Galata Award of the Bangalore Literature Festival 2020. Now, it is all set to come alive on screen as a major production house has bought its adaptation rights.

In a conversation with mid-day online Jane Borges said, the project is still at a primitive stage so it will be too soon to comment on whether the book will be adapted into a film or web series, or on the cast and director.

She added that her literary agent Anish Chandy has been in touch with the production house and together they have been working through the process.

Upon asking how she feels about this development and if she is worried that the charm of her novel might get lost in translation, Borges said, "It's definitely an exciting moment for me. I am hopeful that the director will stay authentic to the book, and recreate the experience as I had imagined it in my stories."

"Having said that, I think any book and a screen adaptation based on it, have lives of their own. Comparisons are not always fair," she said.

When asked which actor would she want to see bringing her characters to life, she laughed and said, "my friends say someone like Naseeruddin Shah might fit the bill."

'Bombay Balchao' will be Borges's second book to be adapted on screen, the first being Gangubai, a chapter from her book Mafia Queens of Mumbai which she had co-authored with Hussain Zaidi.

Upcoming biographical film Gangubai Kathiawadi which is based on the chapter, Gangubai, is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Alia Bhatt has been roped in to play the titular role.