Mumbai: Filmmaker Sriram Raghavan believes bringing a book to life on the big screen is a far easier process than coming up with an original story, which takes time.
In his career, the acclaimed director has tackled two book adaptations: 2007’s ‘Johnny Gaddaar’, which was based on the French novel, ‘Les mystifiés’ and ‘Badlapur’, adapted from the Italian novel ‘Death’s Dark Abyss’.
At the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival’s panel discussion, titled ‘Adaptations: The Stories We Choose to Tell’, Raghavan said he reads a lot of books, which helps him during the writing process.
“When I try to write my own stories, they take time. Sometimes, they get stuck at some point and you are not able to move ahead. So, I find adapting a book a far easier thing because the basic material, the kernel or the premise is strong enough that it attracts me. Then the rest is my work. At least I know I’m not inventing things. So, I read as much as I can,” the filmmaker told reporters here.
Raghavan’s next feature film ‘Merry Christmas’ is based on a novel.