Indian film industry has seen a trend of films and web series based on books garnering positive reviews and box office success. Recently, Sacred Games, Paatal Lok and The Great Indian murder based on the novels Sacred Games, The Story of my Assasins and Six suspects were declared hits. Earlier, Chetan Bhagat books that translated into 3 idiots, 2 states and Kai po che were also box office blockbusters. This trend existed in the earlier days too with books like The Guide by RK Narayan also making it to the big screen.
The latest book in this trend is Indian Author Fawaz Jaleel’s critically and commercially successful political thriller, Nobody Likes An Outsider published by Kalamos Publishers. The book rights of this has been acquired by Mumbai-based Grandiose Production for an undisclosed amount. The political investigative thriller/mystery set in Bihar starts with the murder of a young Indian politician and his close aide. A young CBI team led by Yohan Tytler is entrusted with the investigation. The book, which is a mix of fiction and non-fiction travels between contemporary political events between 1970 and 2022 and addresses a specific aspect of India’s social fabric that is hardly represented in mainstream Indian literature and cinema.
The book acquired the coveted bestseller tag within a few months of release and garnered positive reviews. The Times of India rated it as a “Perfect blend of mystery, suspense, thriller and politics” while The New Indian Express called it “A stellar debut novel with a raw flavour of Indian politics and murder investigation”.
An alumnus of Madras Christian College and Azim Premji University, Fawaz Jaleel’s background of working in rural India during his career as a Public Health specialist and his experience of working with the Indian political ecosystem has helped the book attain a realistic touch on political commentary while balancing the thrill of a commercial fiction novel.
The makers haven’t officially announced the cast or release date of the project but it is expected to hit the floors soon. The author, Fawaz Jaleel hails from Vilakudy Kerala and is currently based out of Bangalore.