Chanakya on big screen

Author Ashwin Sanghi’s latest bestseller Chanakya’s Chant has been acquired by UTV Motion Pictures for a big screen version.

Author Ashwin Sanghi’s latest bestseller Chanakya’s Chant has been acquired by UTV Motion Pictures for a big screen version. Juxtaposing two eras, it highlights Chankaya’s efforts in helping Chandragupta Maurya become the emperor of Magadha and that of Gangasagar Mishra, a Brahmin in post-Independence India, who decides to mentor a girl from Kanpur’s slums and groom her to become the Prime Minister.

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“When I was approached for this one to be made into a movie, I didn’t even have to think about it,” says the author. “The focus of the book has primarily been to show that history inevitably repeats itself. Just locations and backdrops change but ultimately the strategies remain the same,” adds Sanghi, who is also working on the screenplay of his first novel, The Rozabal Line.

Ask Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of UTV, about the cast of the movie, he says, “It’s a great role for any actor. We’re considering the same actor could be playing Chankaya as well as the present day character, Gangasagar Mishra. We have two-three options in mind. It will be someone big.”