India, Sept. 30 -- Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, author and former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations announced her association with producer Vikram Malhotra in the Capital recently. Malhotra's banner, Abundentia Entertainment has acquired the rights to her critically acclaimed debut novel, Swallowing the Sun. Speaking about the association, Puri shared, "It is the beginning of a new journey for me as my novel is taking a step towards the screen. Vikram and his team have a remarkable reputation of bringing bold, character-driven stories to life for both films and series. They have varied range and courage that challenges and entertains with scale." Touching about her novel, she shared, "This book means so much to me, it has been within my being for last several decades, wanting to be told. Now, Vikram is all set to transport it onto screens globally." Malhotra, who is known for backing female-led projects such as Neeyat (2023), Jalsa (2022), Sherni (2021) and Shakuntala Devi (2020), amongst others, has come aboard to tell the story of a girl from Ratnagiri named Malti. "I got to know about the novel through a common friend and was instantly was moved by the narrative within the first few pages. I felt that the novel needed a like-minded company to transform it to the screen. It was an exciting opportunity for me at Abunduntia." Talking further about more details of the project, Malhotra revealed that he and Puri have a list of probable names to headline the project. However, the two remained tight-lipped. "Lakshmi has done an amazing job of manifesting everything so far. We will collectively announce the name of female protagonist very soon. So far, we have internalised the book. The next step would be is to find the correct visionary showrunner for the series. The writing and casting would complete in next six to nine months; and then, the filming process will begin," he revealed. While Puri is thrilled to see her maiden fiction work adapted to screens, she also revealed that she has begun working on the book's sequel already. "I have started working on the sequel that is interlinked in some way" she said, without divulging any details.htc...