Mumbai-based UTV Motion Pictures has acquired rights to Ashwin Sanghi’s best-selling novel Chanakya’s Chant, which will be adapted into a feature film by the studio.

Published by Westland, the novel is a fast-paced political thriller set in two radically different eras – the India of 2,300 years ago and post-independence contemporary India. It entered the Top Five Indian Best-sellers list within two weeks of its January launch.  

On announcing the film, UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, said: “Chanakya’s Chant is one of those rare books with a storyline that has the potential to be translated into a superbly cinematic and immensely entertaining screenplay.

“The tale is about the underbelly of national politics which the book superbly exposes, where strategies developed by Chanakya 2,300 years ago are still as valid in the modern-day political scenario. While the film is currently in its scripting stage, we are in talks with top notch writers and directors to make this the next big political drama after Raajneeti.”

Political thriller Raajneeti, directed by Prakash Jha, was the third biggest release in India last year, grossing an estimated $28m.

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