By Subhash K Jha

Literature and Indian cinema are getting progressively aligned. So it comes as no surprise to know that Aparna Sen invited the Oxonian professor Kunal Basu to Kolkata to participate in the making of the film based on his novel.

Confirming this confidential move to authenticate the film version of the author's vision, Aparna Sen's leading man Rahul Bose says, "Kunal is here with us. He teaches at Oxford. But he has been kind enough to join us here in Kolkata.

There're so many things that could go wrong in rendering the the novel on screen. It is the toughest role of my life, and I suspect Aparna's toughest film too. In terms of layering and a quality associated with international cinema The Japanese Wife beats Aparna' Mr & Mrs Iyer hollow."

Rahul sees Kunal's presence on the sets as a necessary bridge between literature and cinema, " I believe Govind Nihalani had Mahashweta Devi on board constantly for Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa.

Now with Aparna taking Kunal Basu into confidence it's clear that litterateurs won't be afraid of letting their novels go on screen. There have been too many mess ups in the transition in the past."

In fact Pakistani author Bapsi Sidhwa not only participated in the making of Deepa's 1947—Earth (which was an adaptation of Sidhwa's Ice-Candy Man) Sidhwa also wrote a book on the making of Deepa's Water.