Siddharth Roy Kapur acquires film rights of William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy

Former UTV head Siddharth Roy Kapur launched his own banner with The Sky Is Pink (2019) and followed it up with Yeh Ballet (2020) which was released on Netflix.

The producer has now set his sights on a big-budget series as he has acquired the film rights for author William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of The East India Company.

The news was announced in a report by Variety.com.

Roy Kapur told the publication, “While a debate rages today around the world about the increasing power of giant corporations and powerful individuals to wield control over minds and nations, what could be more relevant to global viewers than the true story of the takeover of an entire subcontinent by a small trading company.”

Dalrymple, who joins the project as consultant, added, “I’m very excited looking at the initial treatment note, talking about the various ways to bring this book alive and to bring the characters I’ve been living with over the last six years onto the screen, so that everyone else can see them in flesh and blood.”

The Anarchy was published last year by Bloomsbury Publishing and former US president Barack Obama had named it one of his favourite books of 2019.

The historical book, set between 1599 and 1802, details the fall of the Mughal empire which makes way for the rise of The East India Company from a small office of 30 people in London, England, to becoming the rulers of an entire subcontinent.

Roy Kapur wants the series to be an international co-production and it is being planned in many languages, including English.