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A novel idea: 8 books that can be adapted into films

Updated on: 06 January,2015 08:35 AM IST  | 
Sanat Mehra |

The journey from the library to the cinema hall would be rather interesting for the audience. We draw up a list of few Indian and foreign authors whose recent offerings can be adapted into films

A novel idea: 8 books that can be adapted into films

Books that can be adapted into films

The journey from the library to the cinema hall would be rather interesting for the audience, but not without able writers and filmmakers who are responsible for paving the path of that journey. hitlist sheds light on a few Indian and foreign authors whose recent offerings can be adapted into films.


Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor in a still from last year’s 2 States, which was adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s book of the same name
Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor in a still from last year's '2 States', which was adapted from Chetan Bhagat's book of the same name


'The Underground Girls of Kabul'
The Underground Girls of Kabul

Author: Jenny Nordberg
Here, one finds the confluence of a poet's temperament dispersed amongst the valid findings of an astute journalist. It is easy for an author to drive his/her reader's imagination to paint dark images, but Nordberg drives us to Kabul, the place her search leads her. The book would make for a brilliant film, for the simple reason that Nordberg follows the lives of young girls who masquerade as boys to escape social stigma.


'Mum-Me: How I Raised Babies, Survived Toddlers and Learnt to Love Myself'
Mum-Me: How I Raised Babies, Survived Toddlers and Learnt to Love Myself

Author: Naomi George
This well timed novel by the Bangalore-based writer fits in the present social structure — a woman who strived to nurture the woman in her while being bogged down by the responsibility of nurturing her children, and achieved it. She shares her experiences with some humorous anecdotes that sweetens the bitter reality which comes as a shock to all those who are burdened with this social responsibility. While Shaadi Ke Side Effects comes close in intent, it is far behind in content.

'Awful Auntie'
Awful Auntie

Author: David Walliams
We have seen the success of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' as a book as well as a film. If you aren't snobbish about sinking your fingers into a chocolate cake and licking them clean then you shouldn't mind reading this kiddy fiction because it has got that Dalhish humour that suits only some. If translated to film, one can lure quite a few flexible snobs, like the ones we came across during the Harry Potter mania, who found the film a better bargain than the book.

'Duryodhana: Just Another Shade of Gray'
Duryodhana: Just Another Shade of Gray

Author: V. Raghunathan
Ours is a country that thrives on myth, but there are very few films that mirror mythology with moving images. Besides, when it comes to storytelling, mythology can give the modern writer all the flexibility he/she desires because there is no one angle to a metaphor. So, when such creative liberation meets art, the results can be worth the movie ticket.

Sunita Williams
Sunita Williams

Author: Aravinda Anantharaman
The recent clutch of biopics on icons — 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', 'Mary Kom' and 'Rang Rasiya' — has found favour with moviegoers. If the far-from-cakewalk lives and resilient pursuits towards one's dream are what win over Bollywood producers then the life of Sunita William has been well documented by Anantharaman.

'A Children Act'
A Children Act

Author: Ian McEwan
The writer convinces the reader with the aid of satire that we might be far from cavemen in terms of years but close enough in our actions. The protagonist is a High Court judge, who has to come up with a judgment that can make or break a family; she herself is jailed within a narrow social structure so her liberating judgment comes only after much well written prose. While today's films speak volumes about the way post-production has progressed, this book could be adapted into a film to remind us of the fact that human beings are still more interesting than machines.

'My Name is Abu Salem'
My Name is Abu Salem

Author: S. Hussain Zaidi
Mumbai, other than being the birthplace of Bollywood, is also the breeding ground for some of the most notorious names of the underworld. Formally an investigative journalist, the author has already mastered the skill of presenting an exhaustive study of his subject matter. In this case, the life of Dawood Ibrahim is served on a platter to those who know the don's exploits only in chronological briefness. If one were to link the two big industries — paint an illegitimate personality onto a legitimate multiplex screen — what we would have is a great film.

'A Strange Library'
A Strange Library

Author: Haruki Murakami
At the cost of being partial, Murakami is best described as the most potent pied-piper of Japan. After bagging the Franz Kafka Prize, the Jerusalem Prize and more, Murakami is an author whose act of putting pen to paper should manage to inspire an filmmaker to throw open the same creative dams that can treat audiences to an electrifying film — in particular, his recently released book, 'A Strange Library'. It is about a boy who is trapped in a reading room and has for company only a book on tax collection in the Ottoman Empire, a shepherd and a mute girl, who communicates in sign language. As Murakami says, "Writing novels is like planting a forest". Is anyone listening?

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