The Tiger’s New Habitat

The year-before-last,Mukul Deora took on the role of a film producer with Sagar Bellary’s sequel to his directorial debut Bheja Fry. Now,the musician with a political lineage — he is the son of India’s Minister for Corporate Affairs,Murli Deora,and his brother Milind Deora is the Member of Parliament from South Mumbai constituency — is set to go international with his next film project.

Deora is adapting the Booker Award-winning novel,Arvind Adiga’s The White Tiger,into a film. For the project,he has also roped in Hollywood producer John Hart of Revolutionary Road fame and New York-based producer Patrick Milling Smith. “The story has a universal appeal to it,which is,after all,why the book won such laurels. And so it’s the best story to take my production business global,” he confirmed. However,the team of producers is yet to finalise the director and the cast for the film,although most part of the cast will “decidedly be Indian”. Deora refused to divulge further details until the next few months “which is when the plans will be concretised”.

The young entrepreneur is aware that comparisons with Slumdog Millionaire are inevitable given the fact that both are stories of survival,but remains unfazed. “In fact,unlike Slumdog,The White Tiger will have an Indian producer on board,” he quipped.

The rights of the book have been acquired and work on the film has been underway for a year. “I’ve been on this project since last year; I faced some stiff competition when attempting to purchase the rights of the book. But after all,the best man wins,” declared Deora.