Edward R Pressman Film Corphas picked up feature rights to The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life Of TheGenius Ramanujan, Robert Kanigel's1991 biography of the self-taught Indian maths prodigy Srinavasa RamanujanIyengar.

Ramanujan left the slums ofMadras during the First World War to study at Cambridge, where he partneredwith the brilliant professor G H Hardy and authored highly advanced theories inmathematics.

Matthew Brown has writtenthe screenplay based on the book and will direct. Pressman, Sofia Sondervan andJim Young of Animus Films will produce.

Sondervan brought theproject to Pressman in late 2003 when they were at ContentFilm. However bothexecutives felt the scope of the project was too big for the company anddecided to wait. Sondervan has since joined Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

Ramanujan is also thesubject of another feature project that Stephen Fry will direct and isco-writing with India's Dev Benegal. Production is set to begin this autumn inIndia and the UK.

"Matthew Brown'spassion for The Man Who Knew Infinity comes through in his screenplay," Pressman and Sondervan said in ajoint statement. "His vision for the film will bring the true genius ofRamanujan to life on the screen in a way that we think will be as accessible toWestern audiences as Gandhi and ABeautiful Mind."

Brown is represented byUntitled Entertainment and attorney James Adams. Young is represented byUntitled Entertainment and attorney Brad Small.