Salman Rushdie’s seminal novel Midnight’s Children will soon be adapted into a Netflix original series. The series will be available for streaming in 190 countries, Netflix said.
“I am absolutely delighted that ‘Midnight’s Children’ will have a new life on Netflix, and greatly look forward to working with them to help create it,” said Rushdie.
In a funny tweet, Rushdie took to the microblogging site and wrote, “I’m absolutely delighted about this: so delighted that I’m tweeting about it after a very long tweet-silence.”
I’m absolutely delighted about this: so delighted that I’m tweeting about it after a very long tweet-silence. https://t.co/VjGbtkJ1CN
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) June 28, 2018
Erik Barmack, Vice President, International Originals, Netflix, said, “Midnight’s Children is one of the great novels of the world, and its themes are still relevant to the India of today. The narrative continues to fascinate audiences’ decades after it was first published.”
“We are incredibly excited to translate this pioneering work of fiction that parallels the birth of modern India, for a global audience. The rich experience and talent of Indian creators combined with the global reach of Netflix have the potential for millions of more people around the world to rediscover this story,” Erik stated further.
The acclaimed novel won the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981. It also won the Best of the Booker prize in 1993 as well as 2008. It is considered among the 100 best novels of all time by Modern Library.
In 2012, it was adapted into a film directed by Deepa Mehta. The Canadian-Indian production starred Shriya Saran, Satya Bhabha, Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Soha Ali Khan, Rahul Bose and Ronit Roy.
However, no details about the director or the cast of the series have been announced yet.
(Cover Page of the Book)
“Midnight’s Children,” follows the life of Saleem Sinai, born on the stroke of midnight August 15, 1947, the time of India’s independence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of India’s national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India’s 1,000 other “midnight’s children,” all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts.
