Kovid Gupta (born 1988) is an

Indian-American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred t ...

author, screenwriter, filmmaker, and social activist. He is best known for his non-fiction books '' Kingdom of The Soap Queen: The Story of Balaji Telefilms'' and '' Redrawing India: The Teach For India Story.''

Early life

Gupta was born and raised in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. As a child he was interested in

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" ...

films. He earned three bachelor's degrees from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from the McCombs School of Business,

Moody College of Communication The Moody College of Communication is the communication college at The University of Texas at Austin. The college is home to top-ranked programs in advertising and public relations, communication studies, communication sciences and disorders, jo ...

, and College of Liberal Arts followed by an MBA from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Career

Kovid began his career by screenwriting mainstream Hindi television soap operas. He went on to work for

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...

and

Balaji Telefilms Balaji Telefilms is an Indian company that produces Indian soap operas, reality TV, comedy, game shows, entertainment, and factual programming in several Indian languages. Balaji Telefilms is promoted by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and is a p ...

, where he authored '' Kingdom of The Soap Queen: The Story of Balaji Telefilms''. He later joined

Rajshri Productions Rajshri Productions Pvt. Ltd. is a film production and distribution company based in Mumbai, India, established in 1947, which is primarily involved in producing Hindi films. The most successful films produced by the company include '' Dosti'' ...

to assist

Sooraj Barjatya Sooraj R. Barjatya (born 22 February 1964) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and distributor, predominantly working in Hindi cinema. Barjatya has directed and produced some of the most commercially successful Indian films ...

on ''

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo ''Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya. Produced by Rajshri Productions, it stars Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor. Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anupam Kher, Swara Bhaskar, Deep ...

''. He then worked as head of business development at

Vinod Chopra Films Vinod Chopra Films is an Indian film production company owned and operated by Hindi film-maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, lyricist and actor. ...

and

Film Companion Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...

. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' included Gupta in the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Media, Marketing, & Advertising list. In 2018, Gupta turned producer and founded Kovid Gupta Films.

Bibliography

* *

Filmography

Producer * ''Mind Games'' (Filming)

Screenwriter

* ''

Balika Vadhu ''Balika Vadhu'' (English: The Child Bride) is an Indian soap opera that was aired on Colors TV between 21 July 2008 and 31 July 2016 with 2,248 episodes. The story is set in rural Rajasthan and revolves around the life of a child bride from ...

'' (2010) * ''

Bade Acche Lagte Hain ''Bade Achhe Lagte Hain'' ( ; English: ''They Look So Good'') is a Hindi Indian soap opera that aired on Sony Entertainment Television from 30 May 2011 to 10 July 2014. Based on the Gujarati play ''Patrani'' by Imtiaz Patel, the soap opera wa ...

'' (2011) * ''

Hamaar Sautan Hamaar Saheli Mahua Plus is a Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxfor ...

'' (2011) * ''

Chhan Chhan ''Chhanchhan'' is an Indian family drama TV series which aired from 25 March 2013 through 19 September 2013 on Sony Entertainment Television India and Sony Entertainment Television Asia from Monday to Thursday. The show was tentatively titled ' ...

'' (2013) * ''

Bahu Hamari Rajni Kant ''Bahu Hamari Rajni Kant'' (''Our Daughter-In-Law Rajni Kant'') is an Indian science fiction sitcom television series, which aired from 15 February 2016 to 13 February 2017 on Life OK. Plot Shantanu Kant, a scientist creates a super humanoid ...

'' (2016) * ''

Krishnadasi (2016 TV series) ''Krishnadasi'' (English: ''Krishna's Devotee'') is an Indian fiction television series, which premiered on 25 January 2016, and was broadcast on Colors TV. It is based on the Tamil serial '' Krishnadasi'' which itself is based on a book of the ...

'' (2016) * '' Devanshi (TV series)'' (2016)

Assistant Director

* ''

'' (2015)

Awards

Forbes 30 Under 30 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by '' Forbes'' magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries ...

Asia (2017) * McCombs School of Business Rising Star (2019)

References

External links

* *
An interview with Kovid Gupta (September 2014 interview)
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Kovid 21st-century American novelists 1988 births Living people American novelists of Indian descent American male novelists Moody College of Communication alumni Novelists from Texas Writers from Houston Rajasthani people 21st-century American male writers Cornell University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni McCombs School of Business alumni Klein High School alumni