The book and the film

Every time a movie based on a book is released, it spurs booklovers to watch
it while boosting the sale of the tome, says K. P. Singh

"NEVER judge a book by its movie" goes a famous saying and so true it is in case of the new Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots. The film is involved in a controversy when the director Rajkumar Hirani claimed that the movie is just five per cent of Chetan Bhagat’s debut novel Five Point Someone, based on the story of three IIT Delhi students. The writer is in fumes as he claims that the movie is 70 per cent of his book. Five percent or 70 per cent is a different issue as the movie is recording 100 per cent on the ticket window and Chetan’s debut novel is also out of stock. Both the movie and the book are going to gain from this controversy. Chetan Bhagat is a favourite among Bollywood filmmakers. His second novel One Night @ a Call Centre was also made into a movie Hello in 2008 although the film sank without a trace. His third novel Three Mistakes of My Life is also in for a cinema version while he is riding high on the success of his fourth book, 2 States: Story of My Marriage and has relocated to Mumbai to write for films after leaving his Banker’s job in Hong Kong. He is going the Sydney Sheldon way, the famous American writer, who is the pioneer of modern day popular fiction, only thing he needs to learn is to think of apt titles for his novels which can be suitably adapted as such by filmmakers.

The relationship between books and films is as old as the art of filmmaking. Every time a movie based on a book is released, it creates the interest in all those who have read the book to watch it on celluloid and boosts the sale of the book and sometimes brings the writer out of the box up in front of the people. This was the case of Slumdog Millionaire, which brought fame, among many, to the author and Indian diplomat Vikas Swaroop on whose novel Q & A, the Oscar-winning film was loosely based. The book was rechristened with the new title adapted from the movie and made its publishers millionaire. His second novel Six Suspects is also being made into a film. Although, Vikas got credit in titles of the film, all those who read the book and saw the film attributed its success to its brilliant screenplay.

In fact, 2009 was the year of book films. Dan Brown’s novel Angels and Demons, a prequel to the famous Da Vinci Code, was also released worldwide, although it failed to generate interest and business like its sequel.

His latest novel The Lost Symbol is also scheduled to go on rolls soon. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was also released this year and revived the Pottermania among its fans.

Another book that was recently made into a film was Mohan Das written by Hindi writer Uday Parkash. The film starring Nandita Das failed to generate much interest in cinema buffs. Another such film Aseema starring Gracy Singh, based on an Oriya novel, released in last part of the year was a non-starter.

Dev D, which was Anurag Kashyap’s modern day take on Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s classic was appreciated by critics and masses alike. Earlier, Anurag Basu made Black Friday based on a book of same name on Bombay riots. Sarat Chandra remains a favourite with Bollywood with both Devdas and Parineeta being made several times. Incidentally, Parineeta, starring Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan, was also produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who made 3 Idiots.

Another filmmaker known to base his films on books is Vishal Bhardwaj. His films Maqbool and Omkara were adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. His The Blue Umbrella, starring Pankaj Kapoor, was based on a novella of the same name by Ruskin Bond. Although his latest film Kaminey was not based on any novel, he drew flak from critics for going the cliched Bollywood route. He is returning to books with a film based on another Ruskin Bond novel Seven Husbands starring Priyanka Chopra.

The trend of making films out of books is not new in Bollywood. R.K. Narayan’s Guide, starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman is exemplary of the blend of good literature and cinema. Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khiladi was based on a short story by Munshi Prem Chand. Upamanyu Chatterji’s famous novel, English August has also been made into a film of the same name starring Rahul Bose. Erich Segal’s novel Love Story was adapted in Akhiyon Ke Jharoke Se starring Sachin and Ranjita produced by Rajshri films. His all-time bestseller Man, Woman and Child was adapted by Shekhar Kapoor in Masoom, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, which depicted the story of a child out of wedlock. The film is treated as one of the finest Hindi films.

Another writer that is a favourite with Bollywood is Danielle Steel. Her book Thurston House was adapted by Honey Irani for Yash Chopra’s Lamhe. The trend of making books into films is more prevalent in the West where filmmakers keep looking for good stories. Godfather by Mario Piazzo is another classic example, where the book and the film both made a mark. The famous classics Gone With the Wind and Pride And Prejudice have had several editions of prints and films. The Jane Austen classic was also made into a Bollywood film by Gurinder Chadda starring Aishwarya Rai. The film based on the story of three sisters was relocated in Amritsar and all the Bollywood masalas were added to make it a spicy treat although both critics and box office rejected it. Her contemporary Meera Nair’s Namesake starring Tabu was highly acclaimed and was in contention for Oscars. The biggest gainer was the author Jhumpa Lahiri who was until then unknown in Indian literary circles. The book with a cover depicting film poster was appreciated by one and all. Meera Nair is now keen on making the epic 1400-page novel A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth into celluloid.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, one of the well-acclaimed modern day fiction, depicting the tale of childhood friendship in the turmoil-hit Afghanistan is a treat to watch on silver screen as it has been shot beautifully with the backdrop of picturesque Kabul.

For the lovers of chic lit, there is P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern, who is a favourite among Indian book lovers. There is another interesting movie, Inkheart based on a book by Cornelia Funky in which characters from the book, when read by the protagonist, come alive. This is precisely what these book films do, help the nonreaders a feast of words translated into moving images with director’s vision.

Children of Men, based on a book by P. D. James and rated as one of the finest movies of the past decade, is based in 2027 when human beings fail to produce their off-springs.

The rights for making a film of Zoya Factor, a chic lit bestseller, showcasing Indian cricketers by Anuja Chohan has been bought by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chilli productions. Karan Bajaj’s campus novel Keep off the grass is being made in Hollywood so is Aravind Adiga’s booker prize winner, The White Tiger. So for all those who want to read and have no time, there is a lot of bookish cinema in store coming your way. Happy view reading.

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