Julia Roberts to star in movie based on novel by author of Bangladeshi origin

Thriller film ‘Leave the World Behind’ released on streaming platform Netflix last Friday, 8 December. The film directed by Sam Ismail is based on a novel of the same title.

And the novel was written by Rumaan Alam. This author of the Bangladeshi origin is a popular thriller writer.

Rumaan’s parents migrated from Bangladesh to the United States towards the start of the 70's.

His father was an architect and his mother a physician. Rumaan was born there back in 1977 and grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC.

Rumaan published his first novel ‘Rich and Pretty’ in 2016. The novel created hype in the US right after its publication. Later, his second novel ‘That Kind of Mother’ came out in 2018.

However, it was his novel ‘Leave the World Behind’, published in 2020, that brought huge fame for Rumaan. The new film has been made based on this critically acclaimed novel.

The novel ‘Leave the World Behind’ is one of the favourite books of ex US president Barak Obama. When Obama had published the list of his favourite books on social media back in 2021, this book was on the list.

The storyline of ‘Leave the World Behind’ revolves around two families, one black and one white, who take the plot forward in the face of an impending catastrophe.

Two of the key roles in the film, ‘Leave the World Behind’ have been played by two Oscar winning actors, Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali. It also stars Ethan Hawke there. Julia Roberts is one of the producers of this film.

Before being released on Netflix, the film had a limited theatrical release on 22 November. The film has garnered applause from most of the critics.

The film scored a 74 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was well received among common audience also.