Asif Kapadia, who won an Oscar for "Amy" and also BAFTA for "Senna," will team with the Indian actor Irfan Khan on an adaptation of the novel "Moth Smoke," which was written by a Pakistan-born author Mohsin Hamid.
Irrfan, Kapadia and the independent producer Dina Dattani (executive producer of "Bombay Velvet") have acquired the rights to the novel.
Kapadia will direct and also co-write. Dattani will introduce the film to buyers in the Cannes.
Set in the year 1998 against the backdrop of nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, the Lahore-based novel follows Darashikoh Shehzad, a socially misfit person who begins an affair with his best friend’s wife.
Irrfan, who was starred in Kapadias "The Warrior," will play the role of Shehzad. Other cast members of the film will be decided in the coming months.
"I have been eagerly waiting for something on which I could work with Asif again, and Moth Smoke excites both of us. We believe it can be set in contemporary times," said Irrfan.
Because of the ongoing political tension between both the countries of India and Pakistan, it is immediately not clear where the film will be shot.
"It is too early to decide on location. We will consider both Pakistan and India for the shoot," Dattani said.
Kapadia is currently working on a documentary "Maradona."
He is attached to direct an adaptation of David Mitchells novel "Number9Dream" and also Rolls Royce tale "Silver Ghost".
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