New Delhi, May 1 -- In 2013, Shelby Van Pelt, a former financial consultant, took a writing class at Emory University, Atlanta , where one of her assignments involved composing a story from an unusual point of view. She picked an octopus for the exercise, a wise and droll protagonist she wanted to call Marcus Aurelius after the great Roman emperor who lived in 121-180 CE.

"Based on feedback from my critique partners, I eventually mashed up his name to Marcellus," Van Pelt says on a video call from her home in Chicago. "Just like the stoic philosopher, Marcellus contemplates his death everyday without getting emotional, treating it as just a part of his life cycle," she adds.

We are meeting to talk about the forthcoming movie adaptation ...