'On Nov 4, (2008) Salman and I were having lunch in New York when I casually said, 'Wouldn't it be lovely to make a film out of 'Midnight's Children?'' And Salman replied, 'Why don't you do it?' As simple as that. Salman has seen my 'Water' and loved it. So he feels I could do justice to his book,' she said.

Mehta will start working on the novel, an allegory about the blossoming of modern India, in 2010, right after she's done with her other period epic 'Komagata Maru' with Akshay Kumar.

'Midnight's Children' will be produced by Mehta's life partner David Hamilton.

Now the big question is, who plays the young Muslim protagonist Salim in 'Midnight's Children'?