Myriad Pictures has optioned Leslie Forbes' novel Bombay Ice and has closed a deal with Mark Burton, the producer of Cherish who himself has close ties to India, to produce it. Nick Willing (Dr Sleep, Photographing Fairies) is in negotiations to write and direct the film.

A murder mystery set in India, Bombay Ice was first published in 1998 and takes place in the dark underbelly of Indian culture. The story follows a BBC correspondent who returns to the India of her childhood when she starts receiving cryptic postcards from her long-lost sister. Her investigation leads her to the heart of the Indian film industry Bollywood.

Burton first worked with Myriad when Myriad acquired international rights to The Terrorist, the acclaimed Indian movie directed by Santosh Sivan which he produced. Burton is currently in Scotland producing 16 Years Of Alcohol directed by Richard Jobson and being sold by Fortissimo Film Sales.

Myriad president Kirk D'Amico will produce alongside Burton while the company's head of production Lucas Foster will executive produce.

Willing's other credits include epic television projects Jason And The Argonauts (2000) with Jason London, Frank Langella, Derek Jacobi and Dennis Hopper and Alice In Wonderland (1999) with Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Kingsley, Peter Ustinov, Martin Short, Miranda Richardson and Robbie Coltrane.

Myriad's Deanna Sanchez negotiated the Forbes deal with Barbara Levy at The Barbara Levy Literary Agency on behalf of the writer. D'Amico and Sanchez negotiated Burton's producing deal with Kevin Garlitz of Loeb & Loeb.