Ritesh Batra to adapt 'Sense Of An Ending', starring Jim Broadbent

Ritesh Batra

'The Lunchbox' director Ritesh Batra is all set to make his English movie debut with an adaptation of Julian Barnes' Booker Prize-winning novel 'The Sense of an Ending', starring Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent.

Ritesh Batra

The Indian director shot to global fame with his epistolary romance, starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui while Jim Broadbent is known for his films like 'Topsy Turvy', 'Iris', 'Moulin Rouge', 'The Iron Lady' and 'Harry Potter'.

The film follows a retired man who receives an unexpected letter from a lawyer that forces him to confront his own past including the suicide of his childhood best friend. "I am thrilled to adapt one of my favorite novels to screen and to work with a great team. Julian Barnes's characters are an important part of my life and work, and I am very much looking forward to spend time with them, and with Jim Broadbent whom I have always admired," Ritesh Batra said in a statement.

Nick Payne, whose Broadway play 'constellations', led by Jake Gyllenhaal, got a Tony nomination, is writing the screenplay based on the novel.

The film will be shot in the UK later this year. FilmNation, which has a spate of Cannes market titles this year including films from Tom Ford and Pedro Almodovar, holds worldwide rights and will co-finance with BBC Films. Origin Pictures' David Thompson and Ed Rubin are producers.

'The Lunchbox' travelled to film festivals including The Cannes Film Festival, The Telluride Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival and The London Film Festival among others. The movie won Viewers Choice Award at the International Critics' Week, Best Film at The London Film Festival and The Filmfare awards, to name a few.

It won an award of Best First Feature in 2014 by Toronto Film Critics Association and was nominated for the 'Film Not in the English Language' category of the BAFTA awards.