Amit Khanna is an Indian film producer, director, writer, and journalist. He was the founder chairman of

Reliance Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Pvt Ltd is an Indian media and entertainment company. It is a division of Reliance Group, handling its media and entertainment business, across content and distribution platforms. The company was founded on 15 February 20 ...

, former president of the Producers Guild of India, and the founder trustee of the

Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a public trust that organises the annual international film festival in Mumbai famously known as the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Actor, producer and author Priyanka Chopra Jonas is the Chairperson ...

. He is credited with having coined the term

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. Khanna has also won three

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

s as a producer and lyricist.

Background

He completed his higher education from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He has been involved with media since his school days at St. Columba's School, Delhi and has worked in theatre, radio, television, journalism, and films. Khanna began his career as an executive producer with actor-producer

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

’s

Navketan Films Navketan Films was a film production house based in Mumbai, India. Started in 1949 by actor-director and producer Dev Anand and his elder brother Chetan Anand, whose debut film, ''Neecha Nagar'', received the Palme d'Or (Best Film) award, at the ...

in 1971 and subsequently produced films such as Man Pasand, ''Sheeshay Ka Ghar'' and ''Shesh''. He has also written over 400 film and non-film songs and several film scripts. He began actively working in television as a producer-director in the eighties and set up Plus Channel in 1990 which was India’s first entertainment conglomerate and the largest independent producer of TV programmes. He left Plus as its Managing Director to launch

. His other achievements include editing the magazines ''Tempus'' and ''Take-2'' and writing in various magazines and newspapers. He has served on the

Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

and the Film Import Selection Committee, as a vice president of the Film Producers Guild of India and has been on the committees of the

Indian Broadcasting Foundation Indian Broadcasting Foundation also known as (IBF) is a unified representative body of the television broadcasters in India. The organisation was founded in the year 1999. Over 250 Indian television channels are associated with it. The organisati ...

Indian Music Industry The Indian Music Industry (IMI) is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India. It was founded on February 28, 1936, as Indian Phonographic Industry (IPI). It is the 2nd oldest music industry organization in the world th ...

and

Film Federation of India The Film Federation of India (FFI) is an apex body of the Indian film producers (around 18,000), distributors (around 20,000), exhibitors (around 12,000) and studio owners, headquartered in Mumbai.Shahid Alikhan, R. A. Mashelkar, "Intellectual pro ...

. He helped found the

Organisations

Amit Khanna is the only permanent member of the Council of Management of the Producers Guild of India (the two others were

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

and

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

). He has participated as a keynote speaker for

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla and ...

(FICCI),

NASSCOM The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, focused mainly on the technology industry of India. Established in 1988, NASSCOM is a non-profit organis ...

Confederation of Indian Industries The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India, founded in 1895. CII engages business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape globa ...

(CII), and ECO, and served on over 50 international government committees and trade organizations and institutions.

Writings

Presently retired from all film activities and organisational responsibilities, Amit Khanna devotes all his time solely to writing.

Filmography

Khanna started his film career as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

with

in 1971. In 1989 Khanna helped set up Plus Channel, a television programming house, and joined it as managing director and Group Editor. Under his tenure, the organization expanded its role to produce movies and music, and provide event management services. Several films created under the Plus Films banner went on to win

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

. In 1996 Khanna won two awards as film producer at the 44th National Film Awards: Best Feature Film in Hindi for '' Gudia'' and Best Feature Film in Urdu for ''

Sardari Begum ''Sardari Begum'' is a 1996 Indian musical film directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri, Rajit Kapur and Rajeshwari Sachdev. The film's lead actress Kiron Kher won the 1997 National Film Award - Special Jury Award. ...

''. Plus Channel produced India's earliest audio books in both prose and verse. It also pioneered business news shows on Indian television. In 2000 Khanna resigned from Plus Channel to join

where he served as chairman for 15 years. Under his guidance, Reliance Entertainment became a major player in Hollywood. In May 2008 the company signed deals to produce and develop movies with prominent Hollywood actors such as

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

and

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

. In September 2008 Reliance Entertainment formed a joint venture with

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

DreamWorks SKG DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and ...

named ''DreamWorks Studios'' via an equity investment of $325 million. In August 2009 Reliance Entertainment signed an $825 million production and distribution deal with DreamWorks Studios.

Films

TV series

As a lyricist he has penned over 200 Hindi film songs, working mainly with music directors like

Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

Rajesh Roshan Rajesh Roshan Lal Nagrath (born 24 May 1955) is an Indian Hindi cinema music director and composer. He is the son of music director Roshan and singer Ira Roshan. Personal life Rajesh Roshan has a Punjabi Hindu father and Bengali Brahmin m ...

and

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

. He also composed lyrics for around 200 songs released in music albums by singers

Nazia and Zoheb Nazia and Zoheb () were a Pakistani pop duo from Karachi, Sindh formed in 1980. The group consisted of two siblings, Nazia Hassan and Zohaib Hassan, Zoheb Hassan (collectively known as ''Hassans'' or ''The Hassans'' or ''Hazan''), who were a s ...

Hassan,

Sharon Prabhakar Sharon Prabhakar (born 4 August 1955) is an Indian pop singer, theatre personality and public speaker. Personal life Prabhakar was born to a Punjabi father who was a public servant, and a Christian mother who was a music teacher. Along with her ...

Salma Agha Salma Agha ( ur, ; born 25 October 1956) is a British singer and actress who worked in Pakistani and Indian films in the 1980s and the early 1990s. She was born in Karachi and raised in London, where she received several film offers from India ...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

, Mahendra Kapoor and

Shafqat Ali Khan Shafqat Ali Khan (born 17 June 1972) is a classical singer of the khyal vocal genre, from Pakistan, belonging to the Sham Chaurasia gharana.Nazia Hassan Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. Referred to as the Queen of South Asian pop, she is considered one of the most influential singers in the subcontinent. Starting in ...

's music album ''

Young Tarang ''Young Tarang'' is the third studio album by the Pakistani pop duo Nazia and Zoheb, consisting of Nazia Hassan and Zoheb Hassan. The music was composed by Zoheb and British-Indian producer Biddu, with lyrics written by Nazia and Zoheb. It was ...

''. He was the lyricist for the opening theme song of ten Indian television series, including ''

Buniyaad ''Buniyaad'' (literally ''Foundation'') is an Indian television soap opera directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti. The series was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and dealt with the Partition of India in 1947 and its aftermath. It first aired in 198 ...

'' (1986), '' Dekh Bhai Dekh'' (1993) and ''

Swabhimaan ''Swaabhimaan'' is an Indian soap opera directed by Mahesh Bhatt and Debaloy Dey and was scripted by Shobha De and Vinod Ranganath. Plot Swaabhimaan divulges the story of an attractive woman - Svetlana - who finds herself in a battle where t ...

'' (1995).

Other

Awards and honours

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' and ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' have mentioned him as one of the global leaders of film and television. He has been a guest lecturer at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He was on the selection panel of the Indian Panorama (Western region) thrice (1985, 1989, and 1993). and was the first Indian to serve on the International Emmys jury.

References

External links

Official websiteAmit Khanna
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Amit Khanna
at

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

Amit Khanna
at Daily O
Amit Khanna
at

Open (Indian magazine) ''Open'' is an Indian English-language weekly magazine. Founded by Sandipan Deb, former executive editor of ''Outlook'' and editor of '' Financial Express'', it was launched on 2 April 2009 in 12 Indian cities.

Amit Khanna
at

Jaipur Literature Festival The Jaipur Literature Festival, or JLF, is an annual literary festival which takes place in the Indian city of Jaipur each year in the month of January. It was founded in 2006. It is the world's largest free literary festival. The Diggi Palace ...

Amit Khanna
at Kautik International Student Film Festival
Amit Khanna
at

Film Critics Circle of India Film Critics Circle of India (FCCI) is a society comprising notable film critics from all the major film producing states of India. At the AGM, conducted at the International Film Festival of India—2013, Subhash Ghai said, "You are in a highly ...

Amit Khanna
at Producers Guild of India {{DEFAULTSORT:Khanna, Amit Living people 1951 births Writers from Delhi St. Columba's School, Delhi alumni St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Hindi-language lyricists Hindi film producers Indian television producers Indian television executives Best Lyrics National Film Award winners National Film Award (India) winners