Producer-director Anjibabu is adapting the controversial novel 'Maidanam' for his next untitled film. He believes that the seven-decades-old novel of the late revolutionary writer Chalam is still relevant.

"Women are still fighting for their freedom", asserts the director in love with the story of a married woman who strays into an affair and breaks male-chauvinistic traditions. "The novel reiterates that woman have mind of their own and remind us that we cannot suppress their emotions for long", he adds.

Anjibabu is scouting around for good artistes to re-enact the well-etched characters.

The novel triggered off a furore against Chalam. The orthodox Brahmin was hailed as the torch-bearer of women's liberation and he had to encounter many protests.

Many in the Telugu cinema voice a sneaking admiration for the director who is taking up such a theme amidst routine potboilers. No one, however, is sure if the Telugu film audience is prepared for such a film.