Episode 2: Kovid Gupta – How to break into Bollywood with zero connections

South Asian Stories

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Kovid Gupta (@kovidgupta) is an author, screenwriter, filmmaker, and social activist. At the age of 22, he moved from Texas to Mumbai to pursue his dream of breaking into Bollywood. Spoiler alert: He did it. He has worked on some of South Asia’s biggest TV brands as a content developer, creative consultant, and screenwriter.

In 2017 he was named on Forbes 30 Under 30. He has headed business development at Vinod Chopra Films, he has served as Assistant Director of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, the 4th highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, and has written two non-fiction books Kingdom of The Soap Queen: The Story of Balaji Telefilms and Redrawing India: The Teach For India Story. He has also founded India Kids – a nonprofit that works to empower orphan children.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation – Kovid is absolute rockstar and his stories are truly inspiring. Please enjoy my conversation with Kovid Gupta!

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Show Notes

Kovid’s early life in Indiana and his limited exposure to film through cassettes (02:25)
The impact of Indian television playing in house for 24 hrs in a day (03:29)
The two directors Kovid looks up to the most and has influenced him (04:00)
What was the one film that made Kovid want to become a filmmaker? (04:15)
The utopia of Bollywood and the escapism from reality (05:50)
The incredible story of how Kovid sent 400 messages on a day on Facebook to break into the industry (07:23)
How one man gave Kovid his big break on India’s biggest TV serial at the time (09:24)
The importance of being a dreamer and not letting fear keep you from doing something you love (10:10)
A fascinating behind the scenes look at the life-cycle of Indian TV serials and how they are created (11:40)
Living and dying by the Friday ratings and how plot lines are adjusted accordingly (14:27)
The 4am Skype call from the director of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo that changed his life (20:00)
Working on set on the 4th biggest Bollywood film of all-time (not as glamorous as it sounds!) (23:20)
Kovid’s hilarious story on how he had to keep the flowers fresh on set of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (26:53)
Working with the stunt coordinator of the Harry Potter films to choreograph action scenes (28:45)
The entire timeline from pre-script to shoot for Bollywood movies (30:00)
Kovid’s foray into book-writing that built on his passion for Indian television (33:14)
The amazing stat on how Balaji Telefilms was making 18 daily soaps at one time (36:13)
How Teach for India and its mission inspired Kovid’s second book (38:00)
The touching story behind India Kids – Kovid’s non-profit that works to empower orphan children (45:25)
Kovid’s most worthwhile time investment and his two most gifted books (50:00)
The cool ways Kovid uses timers, focusmate, and writing on pen and paper to break through his habit of procrastination (52:15)
Kovid’s amazing advice on how to break into the industry – “Work until your idols become your rivals”(1:00:08)
Kovid’s parting thoughts on his belief in goodness and bringing people along (1:00:53)

Selected Links + People

Connect with Kovid

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The post Episode 2: Kovid Gupta – How to break into Bollywood with zero connections appeared first on South Asian Stories.

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