Uncertainty over Salman Rushdie`s India visit to promote film

New Delhi: Uncertainty prevailed over author Salman Rushdie`s visit to India next week to promote Deepa Mehta`s screen adaptation of his novel `Midnight`s Children`, with conflicting versions coming from the promotional event host and the film`s official publicists.

Bookstore chain Landmark, which said it is hosting Rushdie, issued a statement claiming that Rushdie and the filmmaker will be coming to the national capital to promote the film on January 24. "It`s a great feeling to be visiting Landmark and talking about my book, Midnight`s Children which has been made into a movie by my friend Deepa Mehta. The book is an enthralling family tale and a surprising evocation of a vast land and its people," the release quoted Rushdie as saying. Ashutosh Pandey, COO of Landmark, said, "We are certain the movie will receive international acclamation and will be well received by the discerning audience." But the film`s official PR agency gave a different account. It said though they are trying their best to bring the 65-year-old author to India, the Landmark statement issued is not approved by Rushdie and it is not yet confirmed whether he will be coming to India to promote the film. Booker Prize-winning `Midnight`s Children` revolves around two babies born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947 and swapped by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. Mehta has adapted it into a film, which stars Shriya Saran, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas and others. The film is being distributed by PVR Pictures in India and is set to hit the theatres here on February 1. PTI