Anand Neelakantan’s latest book, Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara will be adapted to film by Dar Media (D-Day, Ugly, Photograph), according to a press release.
Released earlier in November, the novel is a tale of love, lust and betrayal centred on the Vanara brothers Baali and Sugreeva from the Ramayana epic. Vanara traces how their shared romantic interest in Tara leads to a “fraternal war that would change history for ever”, according to the official synopsis by the publisher, Penguin.
Neelakantan’s works include Asura: Tale of the Vanquished, which told the Ramayana from Ravan’s point of view, and the Ajaya series, centred on the Kauravas from the Mahabharata. He is also working on a Baahubali trilogy that will serve as a prequel to SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster film franchise. The first book in that series, The Rise of Sivagami, was launched last year and is being adapted into a Netflix series.
“I am so excited about my new book, Vanara: The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara, that is going to be adopted to a multilingual book screen adaption,” Neelakantan said in a press statement. “Vanara...is my best work till date and I am sure the producers are capable of making it a great film.”
The adaptation deal was done by The Story Ink, a company that specialises in book-to-screen adaptations, the press release said. “Amongst the 40+ book to screen adaptation deals done by us in the last six months, Anand’s Vanara is not only our most ambitious multi-lingual film deal, but also the highest value single-book deal of the year,” said The Story Ink founder Sidharth Jain.
Information about the cast, director, and other production details are yet to be announced.