'Midnight's Children' to be adapted for Netflix series

Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" is set to be adapted as a global original series for Netflix, the internet entertainment service announced on Friday.

Rushdie, who was knighted in 2007 for services to literature, said he was "delighted" that the book "will have a new life on Netflix".

"I am greatly look forward to working with them to help create it," he said in a statement.

"Midnight's Children", launched in 1981, has won multiple accolades, including the 1981 Booker Prize, the Best of the Booker and the James Tait Memorial Prize. It falls in the postcolonial, postmodern and magic realist literature as it follows the life of Saleem Sinai, born on the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the time of India's Independence.

Erik Barmack, Vice President, International Originals, Netflix, said in a statement: "'Midnight's Children' is one of the great novels of the world, and its themes are still relevant to the India of today. The narrative continues to fascinate audiences decades after it was first published.

"We are incredibly excited to translate this pioneering work of fiction that parallels the birth of modern India, for a global audience. The rich experience and talent of Indian creators combined with the global reach of Netflix, have the potential for millions of more people around the world to rediscover this story."