Ramin Bahrani is set to adapt, direct and produce the film adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s latest novel Amnesty for Netflix. The US-based Iranian-American filmmaker previously adapted Adiga’s The White Tiger (pictured) for Netflix, which is currently picking up awards season heat.
Set in Australia, Amnesty revolves around an illegal immigrant who has information about the murder of one of his employers, but faces a moral dilemma in speaking up as he runs the risk of being deported.
Bahrani and Bahareh Azimi will produce the Amnesty adaptation through Noruz Films, with Ashok Amritraj for US-based Hyde Park Entertainment.
The White Tiger, which stars Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra and Adarsh Gourav, was produced by Bahrani and Mukul Deora through Noruz Films and Lava Bear, with Ava DuVernay as an executive producer.
Bahrani’s previous credits also include well-received US indie films such as Chop Shop (2007) and 99 Homes (2014), as well as Fahrenheit 451 (2018) produced for HBO. He has been friends with Adiga since their undergraduate days at Columbia University.
“Amnesty, my most personal novel, evolved in the course of discussions with Ramin over many years,” said Adiga. “It’s my attempt to dramatise the moral crisis at the centre of the story that is faced in various forms by immigrants around the world. I can’t wait to see Ramin’s interpretation on Netflix.”
Bahrani said: “This novel gripped me from the first time Aravind shared a rough draft with me five years ago. I can’t wait to bring it to the screen.”