Paramount Acquires Film Rights for Aru Shah and the End of Time

Deadline.com reports that Paramount Pictures has acquired the film rights for the young adult novel, Aru Shah and the End of Time, by author Roshani Chokshi. The book is a New York Times bestseller and was published last month.

Paramount picked up the film rights and is hoping for a possible franchise for the book. It’s seen as a cross between Wizard of Oz, Coco, and Night at the Museum. The story follows a 12-year-old-girl, Aru Shah, who lives at an annex of the Museum of Ancient Indian Arts and Culture. She has a habit of lying to her classmates at a rich Atlanta private day school to get them to view her traditional wardrobe as something that isn’t weird.

One of her fibs actually turns out to be true. Aru happens to own a cursed lamp that can end the world, while her mother warns Aru about lighting the Lamp of Bharata in the Hall of Gods.

Top bidders for the film rights for the book came down to Paramount and Netflix. Both companies saw the property as having global appeal that could launch a franchise. Karen Rosenfelt is attached to produce the project.