Books are now inspiring big screen projects even before they go into print or hit bookstores

What do I, Romantic and Diary of An Unreasonable Man by Rajeev Jhaveri and Madhav Mathur have in common?

Both were commissioned as movies even before they were published. In the case of I, Romantic, the novel isn't even out in bookstores yet, even as the screenplay is being worked on.u00a0u00a0

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Author Rajeev Jhaveri's novel, I, Romantic has not yet hit bookstores but it
is already being developed into a screenplay

Books have always inspired movies, the last (and infamous) one being 3 Idiots, based on Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone. But for a book to inspire a movie while it's being written could mean two things: either the author is a budding filmmaker or that the industry is so out of ideas, they'll grab anything. Both theories hold true.u00a0

Producer/ publisher

I, Romantic is about an armyman who quits the force after an encounter with a film student initiates some soul searching.

A few months ago, author Rajeev met Ravi Agrawal of Plus Entertainment (Right Yaaa Wrong, Radio), and bounced off the theme. Ravi decided he wanted to make a film and publish the book. That's how Plus Ink, a sister concern of Plus Entertainment was born. Rajeev is now under a five-book contract with Plus Ink. Plus Ink is on the lookout for authors whose books can be viable big screen projects. The keenness on getting the book out first, as Ravi puts it, is because: "A book lends respectability to a film."u00a0

Another author writing for Plus Ink is animator Mehboob Elham, 32. Mehboob is currently writing Last Dream. The story: a guy sees a recurring dream, which unfolds like a story every night. He gets so involved, he's desperate to sleep just to know what happens next. Mehboob has known Ravi for several years and when he once casually mentioned the idea, Plus Ink took it on.