Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 17, 2018)

As his next directorial, Namaste England, inches closer to its release, Vipul Amrutlal Shah has bought the rights to 21 novels written by the late Gujarati journalist-author, Harkisan Mehta, who is known for his prolific bibliography and stories inspired by real life. The novels – including Jagga Dakuna Verna Valamana, Amirali Thugna Pila Roomalni Ganth, Chambal Taaro Ajampo and Maanas Name Gunegar — will be adapted into films over the next few years by Vipul’s production house.

“The first film will take off from one of the three books that I’ve shortlisted from the library. Two of them are true stories based on a dacoit and a thug who operated in Kutch, Rajasthan, respectively, and the third story is loosely inspired by the Aruna Shanbaug case. These three are my personal favourites,” Vipul told Mirror, adding that he has one more story — of a ghost solving its own murder mystery — in mind.

“It is difficult to choose from the collection but these four novels appeal to me the most.” Vipul, who acquired the rights from the late writer’s son, Tushar, says the plan is to develop adaptations from the collection. “It’s gracious of the family to allow me access to the entire library. It was made possible by Tushar bhai and his sister, who are now managing Harkisan bhai Mehta's legacy. He is the biggest writer that Indian commercial literature has seen. He’s like the Jeffrey Archer or Dan Brown of Gujarati literature. I have grown up reading his books and had wanted to work with them for the longest time,” the filmmaker signed off