Vishal Bhardwaj’s Midnight’s Children adaptation put on hold

The filmmaker was set to make a Netflix adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Booker prize-winning novel
Vishal Bhardwaj’s Midnight’s Children adaptation put on hold

Vishal Bhardwaj’s Netflix adaptation of Midnight’s Children has been shelved. “The project is on hold at the moment. It’s an internal matter that I cannot discuss. I don’t know what will happen next,” Vishal told us while promoting the upcoming edition of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.

It was announced earlier this year that Vishal would be overseeing an adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Booker Prize-winning novel. Actor Ishaan Khatter was reportedly cast as the protagonist Saleem Sinai, but left the project due to creative differences with the makers. 

Vishal Bhardwaj is known for his Shakespearean adaptations Maqbool, Omkara, and Haider. His last directorial outing was Pataakha, a sibling drama led by Sanya Malhotra and Radhika Madan. Asked about his next project, Vishal said he is “thinking of starting something new.”

On his association with the MAMI festival, the board member noted, “It was most noble of Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Amit Khanna, and others to start MAMI in 1997. A few years ago, however, the sponsors had backed off and the festival was in danger. That’s when the new members stepped in and the festival was resurrected to its present form.” 

The 21st MAMI Film Festival will run in Mumbai from October 17–24. 

Midnight’s Children was previously adapted into a feature film by Deepa Mehta. The adaptation starred Satya Bhabha, Shriya Saran, Seema Biswas, Shabana Azmi, and Rahul Bose, among others. 

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