There is no better companion than a book. And to see your favourite companion on the big screen, where your favourite characters come to life, is a surreal experience. Some of my favourite books have been adapted into movies and shows that will air on Sony PIX and AXN for the entire month of May. I look forward to sharing what goes behind an adaptation in my FB live session on World Book Day today. I got very excited about this special lineup. On World Books Day, it is a really amazing effort by channels to promote books— by airing films that are made on books,” says well-known author Chetan Bhagat, whose books went on to become successful films.
The writer of One Night at The Call Centre, Three Mistakes of My Life, Five Point Someone, 2 States, Revolution 2020, Half Girlfriend, What Young India Wants and so on, is curating a special line up of movies and shows that are based on his favourite books for these two channels. Chetan will also bring his creative expertise to talk about the shows and films that owe their popularity to words in print, in an exclusive Facebook Live session today at 3 pm. While Sony PIX will showcase some of the most critically acclaimed book adaptations like the Harry Potter series, The Shawshank Redemption, The Notebook, Argo and Sherlock to name a few, AXN will air shows that are not only inspired by books but are also loved by viewers internationally such as Vikings, Sherlock, Handmaid’s Tale and so on.
Chetan seems to be the go-to author for Indian filmmakers adapting a book into a film. Some of the films based on his books include Hello, Three Idiots, Kai Po Che, 2 States and Half Girlfriend. When asked which of these films stayed truest to the essence of his books, he says, “I am very lucky that so many of my books have been made into films. Here’s the thing, once you’ve had a successful film, others too want to make an adaptation of one of your works. Since my books are widely read, I think people want to see the story on screen. All the films based on my work were very well made, but I particularly feel Kai Po Che was brilliant.”
The author points out that it is always the story in a book that attracts a filmmaker, and not its popularity. “It has to be the story. However, the story should have visuals and it needs to be action-driven for a film adaptation,” he adds. Oftentimes, readers aren’t happy with their favourite books/piece of literature being made into films/shows/web series because they believe that the filmmakers haven’t been able to do justice to the vision of the writer. Chetan says, “One has to understand the reality — when someone is making a film, s/he is constrained by the actors, budget, time etc — so it is tough to recreate the same imagination onscreen. Also, the involvement of a writer in the process of filmmaking differs from maker to maker. At the end of the day, it is the call of the director whether he wants to involve the author or not. For some of the films that were based on my books, I was involved, while for others, I wasn’t,” he admits.
For Chetan, The Shawshank Redemption, which is inspired by Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of the best adaptations made so far. “It is a classic film which comes from literature and has been rated one of the best films on IMdb. And it is not just movies; there some great shows too. Sherlock has also been inspired by a book, and is one of the most brilliant shows. I think these are some fantastic adaptations of literary works.”
And are there any books/piece of literature, which he thinks should definitely be made into a film/series, we ask. Chetan says that there are a number of old classics from our Hindi literature that have yet not been made into films/ TV series. “While I was growing up, I used to read Phantom Comics which I think would make great movies. I mean, the entire world is a fan of Marvel comics and Marvel movies, so they would like to watch Phantom comics characters come to life onscreen,” he adds.
Recently, we saw Netflix’s Sacred Games (based on Vikram Chandra’s eponymous novel), Alia Bhatt-starrer Raazi ( inspired by Harinder Sikka’s book Calling Sehmat) receive so much appreciation. In the past too, films like Parineeta (Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay), Guide (R K Narayan), Pinjar (Amrita Pritam) and Gaban (Premchand), etc were critically acclaimed. Does he think films/series based on literature further help to inculcate reading habits among people? “I think it may. The video content is very popular these days — people see stuff on TVs, laptops, smartphones. To bring them back to books, we have to find a connection and I think adaptations are a great way to do that. They draw people’s attention to the books and send out a message that these great stories come from books and literature which encourages people to pick up the book from a store someday,” he says.
Lastly, there aren’t any children’s book that are being adapted for screen. Chetan agrees. “Children’s books should be made into films and Indian filmmakers must think about it. You see films like Harry Potter, Lord of Rings etc being made abroad, but unfortunately, here the scenario is not the same,” he says and signs off.
