First novel in the Shiva Trilogy.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian author Amish Tripathi has sold the rights to his best-selling book, “The Immortals of Mehula,” to an unspecified Hollywood film studio for a sum of $1 million.
At the Jaipur Literature Festival earlier this week, Tripathi made the revelation to the Press Trust of India, although said he was not at liberty to disclose which studio the rights have been purchased by. The rights to translate the book into a Hindi film were purchased by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions earlier, but no movement has been made yet on a Bollywood adaptation.
“The Immortals of Mehula” is the first of a series of novels known as the Shiva Trilogy, with subsequent installments called “The Secret of the Nagas” (published in August 2011) and “The Oath of the Vayuputras” (published in February 2013).
Although Tripathi indicated that he has sold the rights to just the first book, studios are keen on producing franchises these days, and are presumably hopeful that the first film will be successful enough to warrant adaptations of the other two novels.
Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy is the fastest selling book series of all-time in Indian publishing – it has logged over two million printed copies of all three books and made of Rs. 50 crores worth of sales. Such popularity bodes well for the success of the film adaptations.
The book series is a blend of historical, mythological, and fantasy fiction, and tells the story of the God Shiva, and his many adventures across a mystical landscape populated by all sorts of fantastical creatures, both good and evil. Fantasy has seen a resurgence over the last decade in both literature and film, due in large part to the success of “The Lord of the Rings” films, which are based off the popular series by J.R.R. Tolkien.
There is no word yet on when movement on the Hollywood adaptation will get started. Like its Bollywood counterpart, there is a strong chance that the rights will languish for some time as talent and financing are lined up for what will likely be an expensive film endeavor.
Tripathi, who is 39 years old and resides in Mumbai, is represented in the US by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which also represents stars such as Tom Cruise and George Clooney.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com