Penguin’s novel on Yes Bank story to be adapted into web-series on MX Player

This year’s top financial thriller novel, The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds: The Yes Bank Story, is set to be adapted for screen with Penguin Random House closing a deal with Almighty Motion Picture for its AV rights.

The plot of the novel, written by Furquan Moharkan, is riveting, uncovering the deep corruption and rot set in YES Bank’s shiny success. The novel captures the story of the people who proved to be catalysts to one of the biggest banking failures in Indian history. The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds covers the history of the bank right from its inception to its devastation.

Expressing his joy at the announcement, Moharkan said, “I am really excited that Almighty Motion Picture has acquired the rights for my book. A scam of this magnitude has to be taken to masses, and what better than a book getting made into an AV form. We have also seen growing interest in financial thrillers in the country, which I hope would lead to success of The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds in AV form. This will also help a lot in making the masses financially more literate.”

Commenting on the deal, Almighty Motion Picture’s head Prabhdeep Kaur Sandhu said that her decision was instantaneous on hearing about the novel. “We have always craved for good content and when I came to know about The Banker Who Crushed his Diamonds, it did not take me another thought to go for the rights to be adapted on screen.”

Vaishnavi Singh (Manager, Digital Platforms, Products and Video Rights, Penguin Random House India) noted that audiences are leaning towards financial crime dramas and The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds fits right in. “After the resounding success of the book, we are excited to see the story of one of the biggest banking scams transform for screen. We have seen a growing appetite for financial crime drama and The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds not only fits the bill as a cautionary tale, but it is also a revelation of the chinks in India’s armour against financial chaos,” she explained.

Shreya Punj (Commissioning editor, Penguin Random House India) also stated that the book is important for those Indians who value their savings and are cautious investors. The adaptation of the book into a web-series will allow the tale to reach more people, observed Punj.