Gajra Kottary
Gajra Kottary | |
---|---|
Born | Delhi |
Residence | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Alma mater | Lady Shri Ram College for Women |
Occupation | Screenwriter |
Years active | 2000-present |
Gajra Kottary is an Indian screenplay writer and Indian Television Writer.
Early life
Gajra Kottary was born in Delhi and was educated at the Convent of Jesus and Mary and Lady Shri Ram College for Women. She topped the post-graduate course in Journalism at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, in 1988, winning The Hindu Gold Medal. She worked briefly as a journalist, initially at The Statesman in Delhi and later at the Magna group. She contributed to several of the country’s newspapers and magazines and also wrote on developmental and women’s issues for CHOICES, the magazine of the United Nations Development Program.
Career
Gajra Kottary is a multi-media writer who debuted as an author in early 1996 with her first collection of women-centric short stories titled Fragile Victories which was followed by another compendium,The Last Laugh in 2003. Her debut novel Broken Melodies was published by HarperCollins Publishers, India in 2011 to critical acclaim, simultaneously with its Hindi translation Bikhre Sur. It was the only book in India to be launched with an audio-visual of 5 professional actors- Anupam Kher, Dimple Kapadia, Kunal Kapoor, Mahie Gill, and Avika Gor - reading excerpts from the opus.
Gajra entered the world of television when she wrote the story and screenplay of the serial Hamare Tumhare for Soni Razdan’s Mass Communications which was telecast on Zee TV in the year 2001. Her first long running serial was the award-winning Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani which she co-wrote for Zee TV with Purnendu Shekhar which completed 668 episodes in January 2006. Her next major writing assignment was, and continues to be, the nation’s most popular and acclaimed daily television serial Balika Vadhu, which has notched many viewership records on the channel Colors (TV channel).In a medium where relay writing is the norm, Gajra has set a record by continuously developing the story of the serial since its inception in 2008, recently crossing the 1500 episode mark and still running. She is currently also writing the story for the mega historical serial Buddha telecast on Zee TV, produced by DR BK Modi.
She has written many other acclaimed shows like Jyoti, Godh Bharaai, Panaah, Ghar Ek Sapnaa and Veera on Star Plus.
Gajra was the script associate with Mahesh Bhatt on the film Yeh Zindagi ka Safar starring Amisha Patel and Jimmy Shergill, directed by Tanuja Chandra, which was released in October 2001.
Awards
Gajra Kottary has won many awards in the screenplay/story category in India since 2008. Among them are the Indian Television Academy Awards’s Best Teleplay award, the Indian Telly Award, the Star Guild Awards previously known as Apsara Award and the Global Indian Television Award.
Fictions
- The Last Laugh (2003)
- Broken melodies (2011)
- Once Upon a Star (2014)
Television
Writer
Year | Serial |
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2000 | Hamare Tumhare |
2002-2006 | Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani |
2007- 2009 | Ghar Ek Sapnaa |
2008–present | Balika Vadhu |
2009-2010 | Jyoti |
2009–present | Panaah |
2010-2010 | Godh Bharaai |
2012–present | Ek Veer Ki Ardaas...Veera |
2013–2014 | Buddha (TV series) |
2014–present | Satrangi Sasural |
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4607871/
- http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/balika-vadhus-writer-gajra-kottary-there-is-no-long-term-planning-in-serials-these-days
- http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-achievers-i-am-not-a-superwoman-author-gajra-kottary/20110420.htm
- http://www.tellychakkar.com/tv/tv-news/balika-vadhu-writer-gajra-kottary-pens-her-first-novel
- http://www.indiantelevision.org.in/interviews/writersdesk/gajra.htm
- Category:Indian television writers