Top 25 Indian Fiction Books that deserve an OTT adaptation

OTT or Over The Top media has become the wave of the time, which caters to you with almost every sort of content including Comedy, Romance, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi and whatnot. The continual increase of audience has prompted Content makers and producers to look for some of the most popular books for OTT adaptation. And, writers these days are targeting OTT platforms to popularise their name even more. These books also deserve a movie adaptation.

List of Top 25 Indian Fiction Books that deserve an OTT adaptation.

Wish I Could Tell You

by Durjoy Datta

Wish I could tell you is one of the most popular romantic novels in India. The story revolves around a young boy named Ananth, who has a positive outlook on life, chooses to see good in everything and everyone, and a girl, who wants to become an author and is in search of a story. The twist comes when they somehow come together and join the same NGO and then begins a complicated yet beautiful journey. It gives you a blissful experience while reading.

The author Durjoy Datta never fails to hold your breath when it comes to romanticism. Ever since his first book which was published when he was 21, to this day, he has become a star for love readers.

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You Are The Best Wife

By Ajay Pandey

Ajay and Bhavna are two main characters in the story who met in a college, while pursuing Engineering and both fell in love. The love grew to a level that they decided to get married. Since family drama is an integral part of most of the love marriages in India, this story too was no less. The happy life shattered when Bhavna was detected with a terminal illness and eventually died.

Ajay Pandey, the author, has written a rollercoaster ride of love and real-life tragedies that make you feel a strong emotional connection with the characters.

En route Kasol

by Abilash

A 100-page novella. The perfect book for first-time writers.

Our earth is a mysterious place, filled with many urban legends and folklores. ‘En route Kasol’ is a tale of 3 people within the small forest town of Kasol, in northern India. Kasol forest holds many secrets, amongst them, the 106 acres single tree forest, considered as the oldest living thing by the scientific community has remained a mystery for many centuries now.

A mentalist, an activist and a medical researcher come together and try to unravel this age-old mystery. Amidst this thrilling adventure, they try to resolve a major challenge that has been plaguing mankind since the industrial revolution. A story that is destined to stretch the boundaries of human imagination.

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Wastra

by Rohan Kailasam

A drug addict is attacked during the early hours of the morning on the railway tracks near Churchgate station, which leaves a number of attackers dead and the junkie barely holding on to his life as he is brought to the government hospital and is kept under close guard.

A reporter is given the story to cover. Initially unmotivated by what she thinks is just a waste of time, a meeting with one of the hospital staff, who gives her a photograph, makes her realize that there is a lot more to the attack than what meets the eye.The One You Cannot Have

by Preeti Shenoy

Remember the old saying “Every girl has a boy in life that she cannot forget, and Every man has a girl in life that he cannot get”? The One You Cannot Have is, as the title goes, is about that merely. This novel gets you to taste the realities of love life where You do not always get the person you love, and that somehow keeps you connected with the story because it’s really true.

Preeti Shenoy, along with this book, has penned down several other hits as well and is a big, big name in the world of Writing.

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When Dimple Met Rishi

by Sandhya Menon

When Dimple Met Rishi is an incredibly relatable book especially if you are a girl who wants to live an independent and free life but your mom ruins your mood every now and then by searching for an ‘Ideal Indian Husband’. What happens when she meets Rishi, a guy who believes in the customs and traditional values? Would be worth a watch if it makes an OTT adaptation, right?

Sandhya Menon has written a beautiful story blending two really opposite breeds of people, making it a light and joyous ride.

I Too Had A Love Story

Ravinder Singh brings you, an engaging, and mesmerizing read, in his own romantic style which will be just awesome if it gets an OTT adaptation. The Romantic novel is based on the true life incident of life of the author himself, when he and his wife Khushi were about to get married. What happened? And, how happened? is undoubtedly a sure shot worth reading.

Ravinder Singh, sparked the book market with this debut of his, yes, you read it right, debut. Ever since then, he is one of the best Romantic Authors of India.

A Murder at Malabar Hill

by Sujata Massay

Based in 1920s Bombay, the story is about Praveen Mistry, a young, intelligent and courageous woman who, after joining his father’s firm, became the first woman lawyer of Bombay, and investigating a mysterious will of a wealthy businessman, Omar Farid. As the investigation proceeds, the tensions related to all this escalate and she finds the criminal very outwitting but she has to go deep finding the truth.

Sujata Massay is an American author of Indian descent who writes mostly thriller and Historical novels.

Dead meat

by Ankush Saika

When it comes to thrillers, every list of thriller novels is incomplete without Dead Meat by Ankush Saika. The Story is about Arjun Arora who is hired to find a man who is missing along with a suitcase having cash worth 10 Crores. As he goes deeper in his search, it leaves him with a mind-boggling fact that a man linked to all this is chopped into pieces in Delhi and cooked in the tandoor. Soon, Arjun Arora finds himself in a huge mess that he has to solve.

Ankush Saika, who always brings such great reads, is an Indian author raised up in USA and North East India.

Nobody Likes An Outsider

by Fawaz Jaleel

A Political Thriller that binds you till the very last. The story is based in Bihar where an outsider Ashraf Zain, an inspirational minority leader who advocates upholding Constitutional values, is killed. Then enters the scene is a Young CBI investigator Yohan Tytler. Things go haywire when Zain’s PA, too, is found dead. This high-profile case gets tougher and then…

This is considered the best book by Fawaz Jaleel. Times of India has rightly remarked this book as “Perfect blend of mystery, suspense, thriller and politics”.

The Calcutta Chromosome

by Amitav Ghosh

A masterpiece, a perfectly thrilling read, and worth an OTT adaptation. LifeWatch is an organization which is pursuing The Calcutta Chromosome. The medical thriller is based in Calcutta and then NewYork, and is an uncanny rollercoaster ride of ups and downs of suspense and thriller. The book won several praises and accolades including the Arthur C Clarke Award.

Amitav Ghosh is an one of India’s most popular and respected writers, honoured with the highest literary award of the country, Jnanpith Award.

The Complete Adventures of Feluda

by Satyajit Ray

A fiction book from one of the most legendary and honored names in the world when it comes to art and craft. The Complete Adventures of Feluda is a story that entails mystery, murder, adventure, thrill and what not. That’s exactly the speciality of Satyajit Ray who is a Bharat Ratna and one of the greatest filmmakers the world has ever produced. It would be really unfair if this never makes a film or web series about, for sure.

The Dust Never Settle

By Mukul Deva

This fiction book is about an issue which often becomes the bone of contention in Middle-East war monhering. Yes, we are talking about The Palestinian conflict. Which has been there since around 1948. If you want to watch female spies on a mission and are interested in global affairs, then you just pick this.

Mukul Deva seems to have mastered these such topics. Another work of his ‘Lashkar’ is pretty celebrated too.

Cut Like Wound

by Anita Nair

Cut Like Wound is a wonderful crime-thriller fiction that will leave you in a state of awe. The story is based in Bengaluru. When, on the first Ramadan night, a male prostitute is burnt alive. The investigating officer, deaths after deaths, notices a pattern. How the further story takes place, is a worth reading. Cut Like Wound shall be great to watch as a movie or series because of its complex yet engaging story.

Anita Nair is a famous writer in Indian Novels world. She has also authored Á Better Man’ and ‘Mistress’.

The Price You Pay

by Somnath Batabyal

The Price You Pay is one of the Crime thrillers on this list. A yet another taste of politics coupling with corruption and dangers around the capital of India. The story primarily revolves around a small town young man who joins a news agency. That is when life takes a 180 degree flip and rest all is spoiler.

Somnath Batabyal penned down this as his debut novel and won much praise. He has himself worked as a journalist who usually cover crime, politics, police etc.

 

A Rising Man

by Abir Mukherjee

The plot is set in the Pre-Independent India around 1910s. The first World War is going on and a former detective from Scotland, Captain Wyndham joins the British Imperial Police Force in the city of Calcutta. A senior British officer is dead and is found on the streets of Calcutta in brutal position. The Captain is investigating the case. A compelling read!

Abir Mukherjee, a Scottish born Indian-origin writer is one of the best to look up to if you are interested in Crime fiction. He has been writing crime-fiction since age 15.

Witness The Night

by Kishwar Desai

13 members are killed and set on fire, from the same family in a small town in Punjab. A young girl of 14 years of age is alive who has been abused and beaten. A Social worker decides to investigates the case. After winning the trust of the young girl, she starts discovering about the family history and is shaken by the same. It is great, great read, not only because it is a capturing Crime-thriller but also because it showcases some realities of small towns of India.

As the title goes, this book is going to give you goosebumps without a doubt. While travelling to ten of the most frightening and horrifying locations in India, the authors provide the account of Paranormal incidents. If this comes as an OTT adaptation, it would be amazing to watch.

Jay Alani as well as Neil D’ Silva are well known Paranormal investigators.

Ghosts of the Silent Hills

by Anita Krishnan

Such a Spine-chilling book when talking about horror stories. You must have heard about stories of beautiful women who haunt the pathways at night. A similar concept has been used in some Bollywood movies as well. But Ghosts of the Silent Hills is about a bit of a unique experience. You have to read or watch if something is made out of this.

Anita Krishan is one of the most popular fiction writers of India. Apart from that she is also a columnist working for ‘The Indian Economist’.

India’s Most Haunted

by K. Hari Kumar

If you are a horror fan and have not read this fiction book, then it is really hard to believe. The author caters you with some of the most fascinating stories from terrifying places such as Malabar’s Hill Tower of Silence, Bhangarh (a village in Rajasthan), and Khooni Nala in Jammu & Kashmir. This novel is surely worthy of having an OTT adaptation for those who love horror.

Author K. Hari Kumar is natively from Kerala who usually writes about niches such as horror, psychological drama, thriller etc.

Afterlife: Ghost Stories from Goa

by Jessica Faleiro

If you are interested in horror stories, this is such a beautiful book to pick. On his 75th Birthday, Savio Fonseca is a character who’s throwing a party. When the guests are there, the electricity is cut and things start to get a bit spooky. Everything ahead would be a spoiler.

Jessica Faleiro has authored one more book but this is more popular.

Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories

by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond is one of the prides of India who has authored numerous books on a variety of genres. Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories is one of them and is certainly an interesting and popular one which, if gets an adaptation, could attract a plethora of audience because of the name associated with the same. Written about the supernatural of India, this book has its own separate fan base like the genre itself.

Chosen Spirits

by Samit Basu

These days Science Fiction is becoming ‘the thing’ among young Indians and that is when Samit Basu’s Chosen Spirits come into picture. Written in such a thoughtful way that readers call it “way too real”. Talking about the plot of the book,  the story is based in the Delhi of late 2020s. The novel is more or less, of an anti dystopian theme.

Samit Basu is an Author and filmmaker from Kolkata. At least he should make an OTT adaptation of Chosen Spirits. Fans would love to watch.

Aliens in Delhi

by Sami Amjad Khan

An alien race Qa’haQ is going to invade Earth. Since the alien race is themselves reptile-like, they are attacking smartphones and making people reptile-like as they are. Here, RAW, an ISI agent, PMO, German journalist etc come together to save the planet and people. It’s a great read, and would be worth watching on big screen or OTT.

Sami Amjal Khan, the author, made a substantial effort with this Science fiction and gave a big hit.

 

The Guardians of the Halahala

by Shatrujeet Nath

If you want a science fiction story which should have some mythological touch to it, The Guardians of the Halahala is the epitome of that. Halahala is the poison that was consumed by Shiva but some of that had been left and can be used to make threatening weapons.

Shatrujeet Nath is a renowned author, who has written the popular ‘Vikramaditya Veergatha’.

The Liar’s weave

by Tashan Mehta

Plot set in Pre-Independent India in a Parsi Colony where Zahan is a boy who doesn’t have a future but he can alter realities of life with the lies he speaks. Rest everything would be a spoiler.

It is the debut novel from Tashan Mehta and is one of the best form her as well.

Cult of Chaos

by Shweta Taneja

Touted as the first Tantrik detective novel of India, Cult of Chaos delves into the city of Delhi and reflects the society especially when it comes to women safety. Showed a very terrifying side of the world, This book should get an OTT adaptation, it would be a sensation.

Shweta Taneja, a popular fiction and graphic novel writer, brings to you the very own Delhi taste as she herself belongs to the city.