November 6, 2008, New York, NY – Deepa Mehta and Salman Rushdie will collaborate on a film version of Rushdie’s acclaimed novel Midnight’s Children, the two announced today during the 8th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival.

Ms. Mehta and Mr. Rushdie are co-writing a screenplay based on Rushdie’s “Booker of Bookers” Prize-winning novel. Published in 1981, Midnight’s Children is the fictional memoir of Saleem Sinai, one of 1001 children born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence.
“In literature there are only a handful of characters that remain indelible in my mind. On top of my list is Saleem, the protagonist of Salman Rushdie\\\'s brilliant novel Midnight’s Children,” said Mehta. “I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Saleem, his journey, and the incredible world he inhabits to the screen. To collaborate with Salman on the script, to have access to his humor and his sensibility is a process I am immensely looking forward to.”

"I\\\'m delighted that my friend Deepa Mehta has agreed to make a film of Midnight’s Children. Her passion for the book, combined with her immense talent as a filmmaker, means that my novel has been placed in the best possible hands. I also look forward to working with her on the screenplay," said Rushdie.

Ms. Mehta and Mr. Rushdie are longtime patrons of and advisors to the MIAAC film festival. Ms. Mehta’s new film, Heaven on Earth, opened the festival with its New York premiere on November 5, 2008.