With the trend of novels and stories inspiring filmmakers catching on in India, CS speaks to a few actors about the characters they would love to essay on screen and to some directors about what it takes to translate a literary work for the silver screen.

Randeep Hooda
Actually, someone suggested that I could play the role of Christian Grey from 50 Shades Of Grey (laughs out loud). However, I haven't read the book as yet, so I can't confirm on whether I would liketo do the role or not.


Nawazuddin Siddiqui
If I get an opportunity, I would like to essay the role of Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. I can identify with the protagonist because even I am idealistic to an extent. As far as Hindi literature goes, I would enjoy doing any character from Vijaydan Detha's novels. His stories are based on folklore and connect with people at all levels of society.

Manoj Bajpayee
I was lucky to portray a literary character in my film, Pinjar -- Rashid from Amrita Pritam's novel of the same name. My dream literary character would be Hamlet but I think I am a little tooold for the character. The part is exciting for any actor that it covers a range of emotions that can fascinate anyone.


Ajay Bahl, director
First of all, the story itself should be interesting and one that moves forward largely through external conflicts between it's characters. Internal conflicts in a character's mind are best portrayed by novelists. The toughest part is to obviously condense a 200-400 page novel into a two-hour film. If one is adapting a famous book then satisfying the readers is another big challenge. Emotional stories are best for Indian audiences as we are quitesentimental by nature.

Suresh Nair, creative supervisor
I don't think there's any specific element in a novel that makes it suitable for a film. So, there's so such element that's perfectly clicks with our audience. When you make a film on a bestseller, you don't have to work hard on creating interest, as there'salready some buzz surrounding the original work. Thrillers havean universal appeal as the dark side of human nature fascinates one and all.

Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi, director
The first film made in India, Raja Harishchandra, is based on a story from the Mahabharata. Few films have been made on Hindi literature. That's because not many Hindi novelists create works that can be translated into films. The novels or stories that are entertaining and can be visualised easily are best for films. It is more beneficial if a novel is a youth-centric one as youngsters form our audience.