Novel adapted for Rajkummar Rao-starrer 'Made in China' to release next year

The novel, which served as the basis for the Rajkummar Rao-starrer movie "Made in China", will be launched simultaneously with the film on Independence Day next year.

HarperCollins India has acquired the publishing rights to "Made in China", written by US-based Parinda Joshi.

According to the publishers, the book is a hilarious account of a struggling Gujarati businessman's journey to becoming entrepreneurial success. It is the first in a two-book deal with the author.

Raghu's closest friends and family members all seems to be running big, successful businesses, living luxurious lives in Surat. But 40-year-old Raghu has only the pity of others.

His family-inherited Nepali handicraft imports business has unexpectedly collapsed and cash is drying out quickly. His wife, Rukmini thinks he a loser, his family does not respect him and society considers him irrelevant.

And then, a successful first cousin, Devraj, tips Raghu off about consumer goods that could be sourced from China and offers to take him along on his next trip, knowing fully well that it won't be Raghu's cup of tea.

But slowly, after being initially overwhelmed by the cultural oddities at the convention and elsewhere, Raghu begins to get the hang of things.

"I'd woken up one bright morning in May 2008 with a vivid dream in which I was watching a movie based on a book I had written. That dream ostensibly has been the guiding light, and here we are, a decade later," says Joshi.

She is thrilled that Maddock Films is producing the movie, saying "the adaptation of my novel couldn't be in more adept and nurturing hands".

The film, also starring Mouni Roy and Boman Irani, is being directed by Mikhil Musale.

According to Swati Daftuar, commissioning editor at HarperCollins India, "In 'Made in China', Parinda brings together a brilliantly constructed plot and layered, rounded characters, serving a gripping, entertaining book that you will eat up in a single sitting, but remember for a long time."