Mumbai: J J Creations, the producers of India’s first sports film in Gujarati, the upcoming movie “Gujarat 11”, and award-winning films like “Sadrakshanaay” and “Rannbhoomi”, has secured the rights to “Baat Ek Raat Ki”.

The film is based on a novel of the same name, written by renowned Gujarati writer Aashu Patel and will be a Gujarati-Hindi bilingual. The novel was first published in a prominent Gujarati newspaper and in a leading Hindi national daily.

The film will be directed and scripted by both, Jayant Gilatar and Aashu Patel. The makers are currently discussing the movie with leading Bollywood stars. This is probably the first time a writer has had the opportunity to co-direct a film with a senior director.

On Aashu Patel’s birthday this year, Gilatar purchased the rights of the book as a gesture of friendship. “While the date was timed to coincide with the writer’s birthday, the book was chosen purely for its content. It is one of the most gripping thrillers I have read in recent times and has the potential to become a blockbuster film. There have not been many good thrillers that have been made into movies lately. With ‘Baat Ek Raat Ki’, we hope to get suspense thrillers back in vogue in Bollywood,” says Gilatar.

Jayant Gilatar is a leading director of feature films, ad films, and TV serials. His last directorial venture in Hindi was the critically acclaimed “Chalk & Duster” starring Juhi Chawla, Shabana Azmi, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Divya Dutta. He also directed the hit Gujarati film “Natsamrat” for which he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Foundation Award for Best Director. He is also credited with getting superstars Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Om Puri alongside the former president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, for a docu-drama project involving the Income Tax Department.

He is currently directing the film “Gujarat 11” starring Gujarati superstar Prateek Gandhi and Bollywood actress Daisy Shah. Shah has been seen opposite Salman Khan in films like “Jai Ho” and “Race 3”. This is her first Gujarati film, the shoot for which is expected to be wrapped up in the first week of August. Aashu Patel is the creative producer of the film.

“I saw the showreel of Aashu’s partially completed space-fiction animation film and was impressed by his direction. Based on this, I decided that ‘Baat Ek Raat Ki’ will be jointly directed by us. We are looking to release the film in less than a year’s time,” concludes Jayant Gilatar.

Aashu Patel has been an editor with prominent Gujarati publications and has written 49 books. Renowned film director Tigmanshu Dhulia has already announced a film based on Aashu Patel’s English novel “Madam X”.