William Dalrymple’s book to be adapted into web series

MUMBAI: Award-winning author William Dalrymple’s book ‘The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of The East India Company’ will be converted into a web series.

Siddharth Roy Kapur, former MD of The Walt Disney Company India and current president of the Producers Guild of India, has acquired the exclusive rights to develop historical epic in the series.

The best-selling author has come on board as a consultant of the Roy Kapur Films production and is excited to watch his book’s adaptation.

Released in 2019, ‘The Anarchy’ traces the rise of East India Company against the decline and fall of the Mughal Empire. It grew from being just a trading company run by thirty people from a small office in London to the rulers of an entire subcontinent and established a powerful empire.

Siddharth Roy intends to put together a diverse international team of writers and showrunners to create a pathbreaking web series in terms of scale and quality.

“While a debate rages today around the world about the increasing power of giant corporations and powerful individuals to wield control over minds and nations, what could be more relevant to global viewers than the true story of the takeover of an entire subcontinent by a small trading company,” shared Siddharth in a statement.

William Dalrymple also has high expectations from the web series. He said, “I’m very excited looking at the initial treatment note, talking about the various ways to bring this book alive and to bring the characters I’ve been living with over the last 6 years onto the screen, so that everyone else can see them in flesh and blood.”

While the cast of the web series is yet to be locked, an Instagram account shared a few suggestions including Christian Bale as General Outram. Dalrymple was impressed but felt Rani Mukerji would be an apt choice to play in the series.