Mumbai: Mosaic Media Group will be collaborating with producer-director Ben Rekhi to bring Karan Bajaj’s best-selling novel Keep Off the Grass to the big screen.
The movie is envisioned to be a crossover film, and a search for a Bollywood producing partner is currently in progress. Keep Off the Grass has sold more than 25,000 copies since its release in India in June 2008 and is already in its fourth print run, making it one of the fastest selling debut novels in Indian publishing.
Says Rekhi, "I connected with the story on a very personal level, and was amazed at Karan’s literary voice. It captures the sentiment of the new Indian youth, the angst of having a future determined for them, and the hilarious journey of the soul in one of the most unexpected places, an IIM".
The book has attracted Bollywood attention since its release, and Karan had been in talks with Kunal Kohli and UTV, among others earlier.
Karan Bajaj, the 29 year old IIM Bangalore graduate who authored the book says, "I am delighted at the collaboration with such a well-regarded international production house since it dramatically increases the reach of the book. Ben’s vision for the book is extraordinary, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the movie will turn out way better than the book!"
Readers may also know Ben as the son of Kanwal Rekhi, one of India’s first and most successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Karan Bajaj is a management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group in his day job, and writes on the side.
