Bangladeshi-American author’s novel to get Netflix adaptation

An upcoming novel by Bangladeshi-American author, Rumaan Alam, is being adapted into a film by Netflix. The streaming giant won the rights for the film adaptation where Hollywood superstars Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington are set to play the leading roles, reports Deadline Hollywood.

The film ‘Leave The World Behind,’ adapted from Rumaan Alam’s internationally acclaimed novel of the same name,  will be directed by Sam Esmail. Sam was the creator of the cyber-security thriller series ‘Mr Robot.’ 

The novel on which the film is based is set to be published this Autumn by HarperCollins Publishing Imprint Ecco. 

The drama, set to release in October, has a timely premise, given the disorienting nature of events in the world so far this year: Amanda and Clay’s aspirational vacation with their teenage children is interrupted by the arrival of a middle-aged couple who own the holiday home and who have fled an unprecedented blackout in the city. When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening. As strange sonic booms shatter the peace of the countryside, and animals start to migrate in strange ways, the physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate. The renters are upscale and White; the owners are upscale and Black. The issues of race and clash become distractions to the more alarming things that are happening all around them.

Roberts will play the mother of the family that rents the house. Washington will play the homeowner.

Rumaan is an American author of Bangladeshi origin, according to media reports. He has published two other novels- ‘Rich and Pretty’ and ‘That Kind of Mother.’

Roberts will produce the film through her Red Om Films banner along with Washington, Sam Esmail and Chad Hamilton through Esmail Corp. 

Rumaan will be the executive producer of the film and Red Om’s Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill will also be involved in a production capacity, according to Deadline.

Roberts and Washington previously starred together in ‘The Pelican Brief,’ and Roberts and Esmail worked together on the first season of Amazon drama series ‘Homecoming.’