Romancing the screen

As Colleen Hoover’s bestseller It Ends With Us enters the club of Hollywood’s highest grossers in 2024, there is another book adaptation that movie buffs are eagerly awaiting for — The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2017 historical drama is set for a screen outing by Netflix, but readers are already curious as to how a film would do justice to this 400-page book! Many memorable romcoms have stemmed from books, but it’s a double edged sword. While readers make the readymade all-eager audience segment, they are hard to please. Yet, more often than not, books adaptions have led to some successful movie outings!

It Ends With Us wasn’t a book, but a phenomenon. It’s equally hyped film version, which Hoover is also the creative producer of, is a commercial success. While the film got mixed reviews, netizens have gone ahead to blame its lead star Blake Lively for turning a book about domestic violence into a floral party, promoting brands rather than the cause. None the less, the numbers prove once again that bestsellers are a steady bet when it comes to romances. Here are some of the contemporary romances that took their plot from the bestsellers and made quite a mark.

Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)

The first son of the United States and the Prince of England, Casey McQuiston’s bestseller Red, White & Royal Blue (2019) is all the stuff romance is made of. A queer, contemporary love story, the book gained immediate attention. Tapping into the current mood, Amazon Studios won the rights of the book at an auction. The Taylor Zakhar Perez-Nicholas Galitzine- starrer won over the young viewers. The film, obviously is different than the book, since the short screen outing cannot accommodate all the characters and sub-plots. The movie still clicked, even gaining an Emmy nomination!

The Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Kevin Kwan’s debut novel The Crazy Rich Asians (2013) offered a window to contemporary Asia to the rest of the world. It soon saw a screen adaptation. Kwan sealed the film deal only with $1 but bargained his way to creative control over the movie, directed by Jon M. Chu. One of the first movies in the 21st century with majority cast of Asian descent, the film made a splash as much as the book, becoming one of the highest grossing film worldwide.

The Fault In Our Stars (2014)

The beauty of book adaptations in the romcom genre is that it’s not just the regular plot — protagonist going from the busy city to small town to find love — but a lot of variations. John Green’s 2012 novel has two terminally ill teenagers who fall for each other. The film, directed by Josh Boone, did well at the box-office, winning many awards. Its Hindi feature film adaptation Dil Bechara, with Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi in the lead roles, released a month after Rajput’s unfortunate demise, became famous as the ‘most-viewed film on a smartphone’ in India.

To All the Boys I have Loved Before (2018)

Three books, three films…this is one successful book and film franchise! Jenny Han’s book To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before became a hit in 2014, leading to its screen outing in 2018. One of the Netflix’s original hit, the book’s sequels — P.S. I Still Love You and Always and Forever duly made it to the screen too. The films and their success was followed by TV series XO, Kitty in 2023.

The Kissing Booth (2018)

Again, three books and three movies; The Kissing Booth managed to become a pop culture sensation, even though they were panned by the critics. Beth Reekles’ first instalment came in 2012 and saw a Netflix outing in 2018. The book fanatics have largely given a green signal to the movie, calling it more of a comedy even if it misses out on the book’s detailed drama.

Closer home, romances are tempered with family drama. Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat’s 2 States got a movie outing in 2014 and did well, critically as well as commercially! His Half Girlfriend too got a screen adaptation and did reasonable well.

Book adaptations that led to most memorable movies

• Eat Pray Love is an American biographical romantic film, starring Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert. It’s based on the stupendously successful memoir of Gilbert’s journey to self-discovery.
• Two soul mates who met too late, Bridges of the Madison County, based on bestselling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller, is a moving tale of love.
• The Notebook, based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestseller, is an endearing tale of summer romance that lasts a lifetime.
• P.S. I Love You, based on the bestseller by Cecelia Ahern, is a story to love that stays even after death!
• Based on a book by Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary is a riveting tale of a woman wooed by two eligible bachelors.