Advaita Kala

Advaita Kala is an Indian author, screenwriter and columnist.[1] She has written the screenplay of films like the romantic drama Anjaana Anjaani (2010) and the thriller Kahaani (2012). Apart from writing for films, Kala has also written two novels: Almost Single (2007) and Almost There! (2013).[2]

Advaita Kala
NationalityIndian
OccupationAuthor, screenwriter

| known for = Kahaani 

             Almost Single

Biography

Kala's younger sister is an advocate from the London School of Economics and her father is a former bureaucrat who retired as a Secretary to the Government of India. She spent her childhood living in central Delhi.[2] She currently lives in Delhi with her parents. She wrote her first novel Almost Single from the idea that germinated as a result of some of the experiences that surrounded her. She said: "The rapid way in which the concepts of love and courtship are evolving and continue to do so. Also the fact that the "hunt" was not necessarily the fiefdom of the male of the species." Almost Single was a runaway bestseller and called "Bridget Jones in a saree" by the UK's Independent newspaper.[3] She quit the job of a hotel executive to write her next novel Almost There!, which was a sequel to her previous novel.[4]

Director Siddharth Anand had approached Kala to develop the story of two suicidal strangers who fall in love into a feature-length script. Although a bit hesitant initially as she had not written a screenplay before, she accepted the offer. Intrigued by the premise of the story, Kala started sketching the characters over the next few days and began writing the script, which she found was different from writing novels.[5] Anand helped her in understanding the process of writing screenplays and co-wrote with her.[5] Kala wrote the first draft, approaching it like writing a book, and sent it as chapters to Anand, saying: "Writing a screenplay can also be a lonely process like writing a novel, but along the way when others get involved, it becomes a fun collaborative effort."[5] The film starring Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor, proved to be a commercial success.[6]

Sujoy Ghosh approached Kala with the idea for Kahaani, starring Vidya Balan.[7] Kala took inspiration from her experience in Kolkata, where she had moved in 1999, akin to the protagonist in the film.[8] She reported that despite facing a language barrier and the chaos and poverty of the metropolis, she was charmed by the warmth of the people, which was reflected in the film.[9] Kala started writing in 2009 and finished the 185-page script by February 2010.[10][11] Her research included reading the books Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled by Maloy Krishna Dhar and India's External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) by V. K. Singh.[8] Made on a budget of ₹80 million (US$1.1 million), Kahaani grossed over ₹1.04 billion (US$15 million) worldwide after a 50-day theatrical run.[12][13] The film proved to be a critical success as well and garnered several awards and nominations. Kala won the Screen Award for Best Story, Star Guilds Award for Best Story and Zee Cine Award for Best Story along with Ghosh.[14][15][16][17]

Apart from writing for films and novels, Kala has also written the television serial Airplane which aired on Star Plus.[2] She writes a regular hospitality column for the Financial Express called Epicuriosity and has regular columns in the Financial Chronicle and Yahoo as well as in Dainik Jagran (Hindi)She also writes a regular column for the Dhaka Tribune.

Philanthropy

During this COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus outbreak in India, She has been running a community kitchen by the name Janta Rasoi in Gurugram since the Janta Curfew was announced by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to feed the poor in the city who have been the most affected by the lockdown. She aims at reaching more and more daily wagers and poor stuck in this Coronavirus crisis.

Filmography
TitleYearRole
Anjaana Anjaani2010Writer
Kahaani2012Writer

Bibliography
  • Almost Single (2007), HarperCollins India, ISBN 8172236557
  • Almost There! (2013), HarperCollins India, ISBN 9351361500
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References
  1. Ravi, S. (23 November 2017). "Words that bind". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. Sattar, Saimi (19 October 2014). "A writer's retreat". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  3. "Advaita Kala". Good Reads. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  4. "Advaita Kala". Outlook. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  5. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (28 September 2010). "Advaita scripts a new chapter". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  6. "Anjaana Anjaani". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. "Vidya Balan is the hero of Kahaani, says scriptwriter Advaita Kala". Zee News. Press Trust of India (PTI). 16 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  8. Mitra, Ipshita (16 March 2012). "Vidya's journey was my own: Advaita Kala". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. "Kahaani story inspired from real-life experiences". Zee News. PTI. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  10. Dasgupta, Priyanka (15 January 2012). "Vidya's Kahaani to release as novel". The Times of India. Times News Network (TNN). Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  11. Bhardwaj, Malvika (7 March 2012). "Kahaani: Advaita Kala says she had to tell Vidya's story right". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  12. "Vidya Balan's Kahaani declared a hit". CNN-IBN. Indo-Asian News Service. 12 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  13. "Vidya Balan's Kahaani completes 50 days, grosses Rs. 104 cr worldwide". Hindustan Times. 27 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  14. "Screen Awards 2013: Hall of Fame". The Indian Express. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  15. "Winners Of Renault Star Guild Awards 2013". Bollywood Hungama. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  16. "8th Apsara Guild Awards – Nominees". Film Producers Guild of India. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  17. "Kahaani (2012) — Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
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